i 


/  .  Z 


etfJ^  ******* 

PRINCETON,  N.  J.  & 


BX  9183  .S4  1846 
Shaw,  Robert, 
An  exposition  of  the 
Confession  of  faith  of  the 


JAN  20  1911 


THE   CONFESSION  OF  FAITH 


WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY  OF  DIVINES. 


BY  •/ 

THE  REV.  ROBERT  SHAW, 

WHITBURN. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY, 

BY  THE 

REV.  WILLIAM  M.  HETHERINGTON,  LL.D., 

ST  ANDKEWS. 

Stconti  3EiJt'tton. 

EDINBURGH: 
JOHN  JOHNSTONE,  HUNTER  SQUARE. 

LONDON  :    R.  GROOM  BRIDGE  &  SONS. 


MDCCCXLVI. 


Edinburgh  :  Printed  by  John  Johnstone,  High  Street. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Act  of  Assembly,                 -          -  v 

Preface,                     __.__-  vii 

Introductory  Essay,  ix 

Chapter  I.  Of  the  Holy  Scripture,  -           -           -           -  1 

«          II.  Of  God,  and  of  the  Holy  Trinity,          -           -  23 

»         III.  Of  God's  Eternal  Decree,          -            -           -  42 

n         IV.  Of  Creation,        ...           -  6C 

u           V.  Of  Providence,    -            -            -           -  65 

h         VI.  Of  the  Fall  of  Man,  of  Sin,  and  of  the  Punishment 

thereof,  -  -  -  -  -73 

«        VII.  Of  God's  Covenant  with  Man,  -            -  84 

n       VIII.  Of  Christ  the  Mediator,             ...  95 

n         IX.  Of  Free-will, 115 

„           X.  Of  Effectual  Calling,     -            -           -           -  118 

XI.  Of  Justification,             ....  124 

XII.  Of  Adoption, 137 

„      XIII.  Of  Sanctification,            -            -            -            -  141 

„      XIV.  Of  Saving  Faith,            -            -           -           -  145 

ii        XV.  Of  Repentance  unto  Life,          ...  154 

„      XVI.  Of  Good  Works,             -           -            -            -  162 

ii     XVII.  Of  the  Perseverance  of  the  Saints,        -            -  171 

ii   XVIII.  Of  Assurance  of  Grace  and  Salvation,              -  181 

,,      XIX.  Of  the  Law  of  God,       ....  192 

,,        XX.  Of  Christian  Liberty,  and  Liberty  of  Conscience,  200 

ii      XXL  Of  Religious  Worship,  and  the  Sabbath-day,    -  212 

n     XXII.  Of  Lawful  Oaths  and  Vows,  235 

„    XXIII.  Of  the  Civil  Magistrate,           -            -           -  240 

ii    XXIV.  Of  Marriage  and  Divorce,         -  253 

,,      XXV.  Of  the  Church,              ....  258 

•     XXVI.  Of  Communion  of  Saints,         -           -           -  271 


IV  CONTENTS. 

Page 
Chap.  XXVII.  Of  the  Sacraments,  -  -  -279 

n      XXVIII.  Of  Baptism,  -  -  -  -        283 

n        XXIX.  Of  the  Lord's  Supper,  -  -  292 

n  XXX.  Of  Church  Censures,  -  -  -        302 

n        XXXI.  Of  Synods  and  Councils       -  -  -        306 

»      XXXII.  Of  the  State  of  Men  after  Death,  and  of  the 

Resurrection  of  the  Dead,  -  -        312 

„     XXXIII.  Of  the  Last  Judgment,        -  -  320 

Index, 327 


ACT 

APPROVING  THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


Assembly  at  Edinbiirgh,  August  27,  1647.    Sess.  23. 

A  Confession  of  Faith  for  the  Kirks  of  God  in  the  three 
kingdoms,  being  the  chiefest  part  of  that  uniformity  in  reli- 
gion, which  by  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  we  are 
bound  to  endeavour :  And  there  being  accordingly  a  Con- 
fession of  Faith  agreed  upon  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines 
sitting  at  Westminster,  with  the  assistance  of  Commissioners 
from  the  Kirk  of  Scotland;  which  Confession  was  sent  from 
our  Commissioners  at  London  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Kirk  met  at  Edinburgh  in  January  last,  and  hath  been  in 
this  Assembly  twice  publicly  read  over,  examined,  and  con- 
sidered; copies  thereof  being  also  printed,  that  it  might  be 
particularly  perused  by  all  the  members  of  this  Assembly, 
unto  whom  frequent  intimation  was  publicly  made,  to  put 
in  their  doubts  and  objections,  if  they  had  any :  And  the 
said  Confession  being,  upon  due  examination  thereof,  found 
by  the  Assembly  to  be  most  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God, 
and  in  nothing  contrary  to  the  received  doctrine,  worship, 
discipline,  and  government  of  this  Kirk.  And,  lastly,  It 
being  so  necessary,  and  so  much  longed  for,  that  the  said 
Confession  be,  with  all  possible  diligence  and  expedition, 
approved  and  established  in  both  kingdoms,  as  a  principal 
part  of  the  intended  uniformity  in  religion,  and  as  a  special 
means  for  the  more  effectual  suppressing  of  the  many  dan- 
gerous errors  and  heresies  of  these  times;  the  General  As- 
sembly doth  therefore,  after  mature  deliberation,  agree  unto, 
and  approve  the  said  Confession,  as  to  the  truth  of  the  mat- 
ter (judging  it  to  be  most  orthodox,  and  grounded  upon  the 
Word  of  God);  and  also,  as  to  the  point  of  uniformity,  agree- 
ing for  our  part,  that  it  be  a  common  Confession  of  Faith  for 
the  three  kingdoms.  The  Assembly  doth  also  bless  the 
Lord,  and  thankfully  acknowledge  his  great  mercy,  in  that 
so  excellent  a  Confession  of  Faith  is  prepared,  and  thus  far 


VI  ACT  OF  ASSEMBLY. 

agreed  upon  in  both  kingdoms;  which  we  look  upon  as  a 
great  strengthening  of  the  true  Reformed  religion  against  the 
common  enemies  thereof.  But,  lest  our  intention  and  mean- 
ing be  in  some  particulars  misunderstood,  it  is  hereby  ex- 
pressly declared  and  provided,  That  the  not  mentioning  in 
this  Confession  the  several  sorts  of  ecclesiastical  officers  and 
assemblies,  shall  be  no  prejudice  to  the  truth  of  Christ  in 
these  particulars,  to  be  expressed  fully  in  the  Directory  of 
Government.  It  is  further  declared,  That  the  Assembly 
understandeth  some  parts  of  the  second  article  of  the  thirty- 
one  chapter  only  of  kirks  not  settled,  or  constituted  in  point 
of  government :  And  that  although,  in  such  kirks,  a  synod 
of  Ministers,  and  other  fit  persons,  may  be  called  by  the 
Magistrate's  authority  and  nomination,  without  any  other 
call,  to  consult  and  advise  with  about  matters  of  religion; 
and  although,  likewise,  the  Ministers  of  Christ,  without  dele- 
gation from  their  churches,  may  of  themselves,  and  by  virtue 
of  their  office,  meet  together  synodically  in  such  kirks  not 
yet  constituted,  yet  neither  of  these  ought  to  be  done  in 
kirks  constituted  and  settled;  it  being  always  free  to  the 
Magistrate  to  advise  with  synods  of  Ministers  and  Ruling 
Elders,  meeting  upon  delegation  from  their  churches,  either 
ordinarily,  or,  being  indicted  by  his  authority,  occasionally, 
and  pro  re  nata;  it  being  also  free  to  assemble  together 
synodically,  as  well  pro  re  nata  as  at  the  ordinary  times,  upon 
delegation  from  the  churches,  by  the  intrinsical  power 
received  from  Christ,  as  often  as  it  is  necessary  for  the  good 
of  the  Church  so  to  assemble,  in  case  the  Magistrate,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  Church,  withhold  or  deny  his  consent;  the 
necessity  of  occasional  assemblies  being  first  remonstrate 
unto  him  by  humble  supplication. 

A.  Ker. 


PREFACE. 


In  preparing  the  following  Exposition  of  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  framed  by  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Di- 
vines, it  has  been  the  object  of  the  author  to  state  the 
truths  embraced  in  each  section,  to  explain  the  terms 
employed  wherever  it  seemed  necessary,  and  to  illus- 
trate and  confirm  the  doctrines.  To  avoid  swelling 
the  volume  to  an  undue  size,  the  arguments  have  been 
stated  with  the  utmost  possible  brevity;  in  the  illustra- 
tions, conciseness,  combined  with  perspicuity,  has  been 
studied,  and  numerous  passages  of  Scripture,  which 
elucidate  the  subjects  treated  of,  have  been  merely  re- 
ferred to,  without  being  quoted  at  large.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  attentive  reader  will  here  find  the  substance 
of  larger  works  compressed  within  a  small  space;  that 
materials  for  reflection  will  be  suggested ;  and  that  an 
examination  of  the  texts  of  Scripture  marked,  will  throw 
much  light  upon  the  points  to  which  they  refer. 

The  Westminister  Confession  of  Faith  contains  a 
simple  exhibition  of  the  truth,  based  upon  the  Word  of 
God ;  but  its  several  propositions  are  laid  in  opposition 
to  the  heresies  and  errors  which  had  been  disseminated 
in  various  ages.  It  has,  therefore,  been  a  prominent 
object  of  the  author  of  the  Exposition  to  point  out  the 
numerous  errors  against  which  the  statements  in  the 
Confession  are  directed.     The  reader  will  thus  find  the 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

deliverance  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines 
upon  the  various  errors  by  which  the  truth  has  been 
corrupted  in  former  times,  and  will  be  guarded  against 
modern  errors,  which  are  generally  only  a  revival  of 
those  that  had  previously  disturbed  the  Church,  and 
that  had  been  long  ago  refuted. 

To  render  the  work  more  accessible  for  reference,  a 
Table  of  Contents  has  been  prefixed,  and  a  copious  In- 
dex added,  which  will  show,  at  a  glance,  the  various 
subjects  discussed,  and  the  manifold  errors  that  have 
been  noticed,  in  the  course  of  the  work. 

To  have  transcribed  the  proofs  from  Scripture  an- 
nexed to  each  proposition  by  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly of  Divines,  would  have  extended  this  volume  to  an 
inconvenient  size,  but  the  texts  have  been  inserted  after 
each  section;  and  the  additional  labour  of  those  who 
will  take  the  trouble  of  turning  to  these  proofs  in  their 
Bibles  will  be  amply  compensated.  Their  scriptural 
knowledge  will  be  enlarged,  and  they  will  be  satisfied 
that  every  truth  set  down  in  the  Confession  is  "  most 
agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God."  Of  this  the  author  of 
the  Exposition  is  so  completely  convinced,  that  he  has 
not  found  it  necessary  to  differ  from  the  compilers  of 
the  Confession  in  any  one  point  of  doctrine.  The  lan- 
guage, in  some  cases,  might  admit  of  improvement;  but 
"  as  to  the  truth  of  the  matter,"  he  cordially  concurs  in 
the  judgment  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  in  1647,  that  it  is  "most  orthodox,  and 
grounded  upon  the  Word  of  God."  And  if  the  Con- 
fession, two  hundred  years  ago,  contained  a  faithful  ex- 
hibition of  the  truth,  it  must  do  so  still ;  for  scriptural 
truth  is,  like  its  divine  Author,  "  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  for  ever." 

Whitburn,  May  12,  1845. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 


There  have  been  many  objections  urged  against  the 
use  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith,  at  different 
periods,  and  with  various  degrees  of  skill  or  plausibility. 
It  is  not  necessary  either  to  enumerate  all  these  objec- 
tions or  to  answer  them  all,  since  many  of  them  have 
sunk  into  oblivion,  and  others  have  already  met  suffi- 
cient refutation.  Almost  the  only  objection  which  is 
now  urged  with  any  degree  of  confidence,  is  that  which 
accuses  Confessions  of  usurping  a  position  and  authority 
due  to  divine  truth  alone.  This  objection  itself  has  its 
origin  in  an  erroneous  view  of  what  a  Confession  of  Faith 
really  is,  and  of  what  it  is  in  which  the  necessity  of  a 
Confession  being  framed  consists.  The  necessity  for  the 
formation  of  Confessions  of  Faith  does  not  lie  in  the 
nature  of  the  sacred  truth  revealed  to  man ;  but  in  the 
nature  of  the  human  mind  itself.  A  Confession  of  Faith 
is  not  a  revelation  of  divine  truth — it  is  "  not  even  a 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  but  a  help  in  both,"  to  use  the 
words  of  our  own  Confession ;  but  it  is  a  declaration  of 
the  manner  in  which  any  man,  or  number  of  men — 
any  Christian  or  any  Church — understands  the  truth 
which  has  been  revealed.  Its  object  is,  therefore,  not 
to  teach  divine  truth ;  but  to  exhibit  a  clear,  systematic, 
and  intelligible  declaration  of  our  own  sentiments,  and 
to  furnish  the  means  of  ascertaining  the  opinions  of 
others,  especially  in  religious  controversies. 


X  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

The  truth  of  this  view,  and  the  explanation  which  it 
gives  of  the  necessity  for  the  existence  of  Creeds  and 
Confessions,  may  be  easily  shown.  The  human  mind 
is  so  prone  to  error,  and  of  such  widely  diversified  capa- 
city in  every  respect,  that  when  even  a  simple  truth  is 
presented  for  its  reception,  that  truth  may  be  reproduced 
in  almost  as  many  different  aspects  as  there  were  dif- 
ferent minds  to  which  it  was  presented.  Suppose  it 
a  single  sentence,  uttered  in  a  voice,  or  written  in  a 
language  understood  by  all — each  man  might  under- 
stand it  in  his  own  way,  putting  upon  it  the  construc- 
tion which,  to  him,  seemed  the  clearest ;  but  it  would 
be  impossible  to  ascertain,  whether  they  all  understood 
it  in  the  same  sense  or  not,  by  their  merely  repeating 
the  very  words  which  they  had  heard  or  read,  unless 
they  were  all  to  state,  each  in  his  own  words,  what  they 
understood  it  to  mean.  Each  man  might  then  say,  "  I 
believe  its  meaning  was  to  this  effect."  This  would  be 
really  his  Creed,  or  Confession  of  Faith,  respecting  that 
truth ;  and  when  all  had  thus  stated  their  belief,  if  any- 
thing like  a  harmonious  consent  of  mind  among  them 
could  be  obtained,  it  would  be  their  united  Confession 
of  Faith,  with  regard  to  that  particular  truth  so  revealed 
and  understood. 

But  it  would  be  more  than  this — it  would  be  both 
a  bond  of  union  among  themselves  on  that  point,  and 
also  a  conjoint  testimony  to  all  other  men ;  not  as  ab- 
solutely and  certainly  teaching  that  truth,  but  as  abso- 
lutely and  certainly  conveying  the  sense  in  which  these 
men  understood  it,  so  far  as  their  statement  was  itself 
distinct  and  intelligible;  and  it  might  prove  the  term 
of  admission  to  the  body  of  those  who  had  thus  emitted 
a  joint  declaration  of  what  they  believed  to  be  the  mean- 
ing of  that  truth. 

To  this  extent,  we  think,  all  intelligent  and  candid 
persons  will  readily  concur;  and  so  far,  it  must  be 
evident  that  there  is  no  infringement  of  the  natural 
liberty  of  any  man,  nor  any  attempt  to  control  or  over- 
bear his  conscientious  convictions  respecting  what  he 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XI 

believes  to  be  truth  in  any  given  or  supposable  case.  If 
any  man  cannot  agree  with  the  joint  testimony  borne  by 
those  who  are  agreed,  this  may  be  a  cause  of  mutual  re- 
gret ;  but  it  could  neither  confer  on  them  any  right  to 
compel  him  to  join  them,  contrary  to  his  convictions, 
nor  entitle  him  to  complain  on  account  of  being  excluded 
from  a  body  of  men  with  whose  opinions  he  did  not 
concur.  No  man  of  strict  integrity,  indeed,  could  even 
wish  to  become  one  of  a  body  of  men  with  whom  he 
did  not  agree  on  that  peculiar  point  which  formed  the 
basis  of  their  association. 

Now,  let  this  view  be  applied  to  the  subject  of  reli- 
gious truth — taking  care,  at  the  sametime,  to  mark  the 
special  points  which  the  idea  of  religious  truth  neces- 
sarily introduces.  Religious  truth  is  the  revelation  of 
God's  will  to  man — whether  that  revelation  be  conveyed 
orally,  or  in  a  written  record.  As  it  comes  now  to  us, 
it  is  in  a  written  record.  This  we  believe  to  be  the 
very  Word  of  the  very  God  of  truth.  In  this  respect, 
it  is  to  every  soul  the  only  and  the  all-  sufficient  rule  of 
faith,  with  regard  to  "  what  man  is  to  believe  concern- 
ing God,  and  what  duty  God  requires  of  man."  But 
the  question  immediately  arises,  as  above  suggested, 
whether  all  to  whom  this  revelation  of  God's  will  has 
been  made  understand  it  in  the  same  sense  ?  If  any 
man  say,  that  his  only  rule  of  faith  is  the  Bible,  every 
man  who  believes  the  Bible  to  be  the  Word  of  God 
will  agree  in  this  sentiment ;  but  still  the  question  re- 
turns, "  What  do  you  understand  the  Bible  to  teach." 
It  would  be  no  answer  to  this  Question,  merely  to  repeat 
a  series  of  texts ;  for  this  would  give  no  information  in 
what  sense  these  texts  were  understood.  This  must  be 
manifest  to  every  one  who  reflects  for  a  moment.  All 
who  even  profess  the  Christian  name,  however  dis- 
cordant their  opinions  may  be,  at  least  assume  to  believe 
the  Bible ;  but  each  jarring  sectarian  gives  his  own  con- 
struction to  the  language  of  that  sacred  book ;  and  it  is 
only  in  consequence  of  the  statement  in  his  own  words 
of  what  that  construction  is,  that  it  can  be  known  whe- 


Xll  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

ther  his  sentiments  accord  with,  or  differ  from,  those  of 
the  majority  of  professing  Christians.  This,  as  before 
remarked,  arises  not  out  of  the  nature  of  the  truth  re- 
vealed, but  out  of  the  nature  of  the  minds  to  whom  that 
truth  is  presented.  The  question  is  not,  therefore,  one 
respecting  God's  truth,  but  respecting  man's  truth — 
not  respecting  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  but  respecting 
man's  apprehension  of  that  truth. 

Another  element  now  comes  into  view.  The  Bible 
not  only  contains  a  revelation  of  eternal  truth,  which  it 
is  man's  duty  to  receive  and  to  hold;  but  it  also  appoints 
a  body  of  men  to  be  the  depositaries  and  teachers  of  that 
truth — a  Church,  which  is  not  a  voluntary  association  of 
men  who  have  ascertained  that  there  is  a  harmony  of 
sentiment  sufficient  for  a  basis  of  union,  but  a  divine 
institution,  subject  directly  to  God,  and  having  no  autho- 
rity over  conscience.  And,  to  complete  this  idea,  let  it 
further  be  observed,  that  God,  in  instituting  the  Church, 
has«promised  to  bestow  upon  it  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  lead 
it  into  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  This  promise, 
further,  is  not  to  the  Church  in  an  aggregate  capacity 
alone,  but  also  to  every  individual  member  thereof,  so  as 
both  to  preserve  inviolate  his  own  responsibility,  and  to 
secure  his  personal  union  with  God.  The  realization  of 
this  great  promise  provides  what  in  no  other  case  exists, 
or  can  exist — an  infallible  umpire  for  the  decision  of 
all  questions  that  can  arise  respecting  Christian  faith. 
For  it  may  be  confidently  maintained,  that  whenever 
jarring  Churches  or  individual  Christians  have  been 
enabled  to  seek  the  light  and  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  a  sincere,  humble,  and  earnest  spirit,  they  have 
obtained  such  a  decision  of  the  point  in  dispute  as  to 
put  an  end  to  contention,  and  to  secure  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace :  and  further,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  various  aspects  in  which  Christianity  has, 
during  the  course  of  many  centuries,  been  externally 
disguised,  there  has  been  still  an  amount  of  real  har- 
mony of  belief,  such  as  none  but  an  infallible  teacher 
and  arbiter  could  have  secured. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  Xlll 

The  Christian  Church,  as  a  divine  institution,  takes 
the  Word  of  God  alone,  and  the  whole  Word  of  God,  as 
her  only  rule  of  faith;  but  she  must  also  frame  and  pro- 
mulgate a  statement  of  what  she  understands  the  Word 
of  God  to  teach.  This  she  does,  not  as  arrogating  any 
authority  to  suppress,  change,  or  amend  anything  that 
God's  Word  teaches,  but  in  discharge  of  the  various 
duties  which  she  owes  to  God,  to  the  world,  and  to  those 
of  her  own  communion.  Since  she  has  been  constituted 
the  depositary  of  God's  truth,  it  is  her  duty  to  him  to 
state,  in  the  most  distinct  and  explicit  terms,  what  she 
understands  that  truth  to  mean.  In  this  manner  she 
not  only  proclaims  what  God  has  said,  but  also  appends 
her  seal  that  God  is  true.  Thus  a  Confession  of  Faith 
is  not  the  very  voice  of  divine  truth,  but  the  echo  of  that 
voice  from  souls  that  have  heard  its  utterance,  felt  its 
power,  and  are  answering  to  its  call.  And,  since  she 
has  been  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  God's 
truth  to  an  erring  world,  her  duty  to  the  world  requires 
that  she  should  leave  it  in  no  doubt  respecting  the  man- 
ner in  which  she  understands  the  message  which  she  has 
to  deliver.  Without  doing  so  the  Church  would  be  no 
teacher,  and  the  world  might  remain  untaught,  so  far  as 
she  was  concerned.  For  when  the  message  had  been 
stated  in  God's  own  words,  every  hearer  must  attempt, 
according  to  the  constitution  of  his  own  mind,  to  form 
some  conception  of  what  these  words  mean;  and  his 
conceptions  may  be  very  vague  and  obscure,  or  even 
very  erroneous,  unless  some  attempt  be  made  to  define, 
elucidate,  and  correct  them.  Nor,  indeed,  could  either 
the  hearers  or  the  teachers  know  that  they  understood 
the  truth  alike,  without  mutual  statements  and  explana- 
tions with  regard  to  the  meaning  which  they  respec- 
tively believe  it  to  convey.  Still  further,  the  Church,  has 
a  duty  to  discharge  to  those  of  its  own  comnfunion. 
To  them  she  must  produce  a  form  of  sound  words,  in 
order  both  to  promote  and  confirm  their  knowledge,  and 
also  to  guard  them  against  the  hazard  of  being  led  into 
errors;  and,  as  they  must  be  regarded  as  all  agreed,  with 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

respect  to  the  main  outline  of  the  truths  which  they  be- 
lieve, they  are  deeply  interested  in  obtaining  some  secu- 
rity that  those  who  are  to  become  their  teachers  in  future 
geuerations  shall  continue  to  teach  the  same  divine  and 
saving  truths.  The  members  of  any  Church  must  know 
each  other's  sentiments — must  combine  to  hold  them 
forth  steadily  and  consistently  to  the  notice  of  all  around 
them,  as  witnesses  for  the  same  truths ;  and  must  do 
their  utmost  to  secure  that  the  same  truths  shall  be 
taught  by  all  its  ministers,  and  to  all  candidates  for  ad- 
mission. For  all  these  purposes  the  formation  of  a 
Creed,  or  Confession  of  Faith,  is  imperatively  necessary; 
and  thus  it  appears  that  a  Church  cannot  adequately 
discharge  its  duty  to  God,  to  the  world,  and  to  its  own 
members,  without  a  Confession  of  Faith. 

There  never  has  been  a  period  in  which  the  Christian 
Church  has  been  without  a  Confession  of  Faith,  though 
these  Confessions  have  varied  both  in  character  and  in 
extent.  The  first  and  simplest  Confession  is  that  of 
Peter :  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
That  of  the  Ethiopian  treasurer  is  similar,  and  almost 
identical :  "  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God."  This  Confession  secured  admission  into  the 
Church;  but,  without  this,  admission  could  not  have 
been  obtained.  It  was  not  long  till  this  simple  and  brief 
primitive  Confession  was  enlarged;  at  first,  in  order  to 
meet  the  perverse  notions  of  the  Judaizing  teachers,  and 
next,  to  exclude  those  who  were  beginning  to  be  tainted 
with  the  Gnostic  heresies.  It  then  became  necessary, 
not  only  to  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of 
God,  but  also  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the  flesh, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  admission,  and  to  check  the 
teaching,  of  those  who  held  that  Christ's  human  nature 
was  a  mere  phantasm  or  appearance.  In  like  manner 
the  ris^^of  any  heresy  rendered  it  necessary,  first,  to  test 
the  novel  tenet  by  the  Word  of  God  and  by  the  decision 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  then  to  add  to  the  existing  Con- 
fession of  Faith  a  new  article,  containing  the  deliverance 
of  the  Church  respecting  each  successive  heresy.     Thus, 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XV 

in  the  discharge  of  her  duty  to  God,  to  the  world,  and 
to  herself,  the  Church  was  constrained  to  enlarge  the 
Confession  of  her  Faith.  But  this  unavoidable  enlarge- 
ment ought  not  to  be  censured  as  unnecessarily  length- 
ened and  minute ;  for,  let  it  be  observed,  that  it  led  to 
a  continually  increasing  clearness  and  precision  in  the 
testimony  of  what  the  Church  believes,  and  tended  to 
the  progressive  development  of  sacred  truth.  Further, 
as  the  need  of  a  Confession  arises  from  the  nature  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  enlargement  of  the  Confession 
was  caused  by  the  successive  appearance  and  refutation 
of  error,  and  as  the  human  mind  is  still  the  same,  and 
prone  to  the  same  erroneous  notions,  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  which  contains  a  refutation  of  past  heresies,  fur- 
nishes, at  the  sametime,  to  all  who  understand  it,  a 
ready  weapon  wherewith  to  encounter  any  resuscitated 
heresy.  The  truth  of  this  view  will  be  most  apparent  to 
those  who  have  most  carefully  studied  the  various  Con- 
fessions of  Faith  framed  by  the  Christian  Church.  And 
it  must  ever  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  no  small  im- 
portance by  those  who  seek  admission  into  any  Church, 
that  in  its  Confession  they  can  obtain  a  full  exhibition 
of  the  terms  of  communion  to  which  they  are  required 
to  consent.  The  existence  of  a  Confession  of  Faith  is 
ever  a  standing  defence  against  the  danger  of  any  Church 
lapsing  unawares  into  heresy.  For  although  no  Church 
ought  to  regard  her  Confession  as  a  standard  of  faith,  in 
any  other  than  a  subordinate  sense,  still  it  is  a  standard 
of  admitted  faith,  which  the  Church  may  not  lightly 
abandon,  and  a  term  of  communion  to  its  own  members, 
till  its  articles  are  accused  of  being  erroneous,  and  again 
brought  to  the  final  and  supreme  standard,  the  Word  of 
God  and  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  sincerely, 
humbly,  and  earnestly  sought  in  faith  and  prayer. 

II.  Quitting  the  subject  of  Confessions  of  Faith  in 
general,  we  direct  our  attention  to  the  Confession  of 
Faith  framed  by  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines. 
The  first  thing  which  must  strike  any  thoughtful  reader, 


XVI  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

after  having  carefully  and  studiously  perused  the  West- 
minster Assembly's  Confession  of  Faith,  is  the  remark- 
able comprehensiveness  and  accuracy  of  its  character, 
viewed  as  a  systematic  exhibition  of  divine  truth,  or 
what  is  termed  a  system  of  theology.  In  this  respect  it 
may  be  regarded  as  almost  perfect,  both  in  its  arrange- 
ment and  in  its  completeness.  Even  a  single  glance  over 
its  table  of  contents  will  show  with  what  exquisite  skill 
its  arrangement  proceeds  from  the  statement  of  first  prin- 
ciples to  the  regular  development  and  final  consummation 
of  the  whole  scheme  of  revealed  truth.  Nothing  essen- 
tial is  omitted;  and  nothing  is  extended  to  a  length 
disproportioned  to  its  due  importance.  Nor  do  we  think 
that  a  systematic  study  of  theology  could  be  prosecuted 
on  a  better  plan  than  that  of  the  Confession  of  Faith. 
Too  little  attention,  perhaps,  has  been  shown  to  the  Con- 
fession in  this  respect;  and  we  are  strongly  persuaded 
that  it  might  be  most  advantageously  used  in  our  theolo- 
gical halls  as  a  text-book.  This,  at  least,  may  be  affirmed, 
that  no  private  Christian  could  fail  to  benefit  largely  from 
a  deliberate  and  studious  perusal  and  reperusal  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  for  the  express  purpose  of  obtaining 
a  clear  and  systematic  conception  of  sacred  truth,  both 
as  a  whole,  and  with  all  its  parts  so  arranged  as  to  dis- 
play their  relative  importance,  and  their  mutual  bearing 
upon,  and  illustration  of,  each  other.  Such  a  deliberate 
perusal  would  also  tend  very  greatly  to  fortify  the  mind 
against  the  danger  of  being  led  astray  by  crude  no- 
tions, or  induced  to  attribute  undue  importance  to  some 
favourite  doctrine,  to  the  disparagement  of  others  not 
less  essential,  and  with  serious  injury  to  the  harmonious 
analogy  of  faith. 

There  is  another  characteristic  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  to  which  still  less  attention  has  been  gene- 
rally directed,  but  which  is  not  less  remarkable.  Framed, 
as  it  was,  by  men  of  distinguished  learning  and  ability, 
who  were  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  history  of  the 
Church  from  the  earliest  times  till  the  period  in  which 
lhey  lived,  it  contains  the  calm  and  settled  judgment  of 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XYH 

these  profound  divines  on  all  previous  heresies  and  sub- 
jects of  controversy  which  had  in  any  age  or  country 
agitated  the  Church.  This  it  does  without  expressly 
naming  even  one  of  these  heresies,  or  entering  into  mere 
controversy.  Each  error  is  condemned,  not  by  a  direct 
statement  and  refutation  of  it,  but  by  a  clear,  definite, 
and  strong  statement  of  the  converse  truth.  There  was, 
in  this  mode  of  exhibiting  the  truth,  singular  wisdom 
combined  with  equally  singular  modesty.  Everything 
of  an  irritating  nature  is  suppressed,  and  the  pure  and 
simple  truth  alone  displayed;  while  there  is  not  only 
no  ostentatious  parade  of  superior  learning,  but  even  a 
concealment  of  learning  the  most  accurate  and  profound. 
A  hasty  or  superficial  reader  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
will  scarcely  perceive  that,  in  some  of  its  apparently 
simple  propositions,  he  is  perusing  an  acute  and  conclu- 
sive refutation  of  the  various  heresies  and  controversies 
that  have  corrupted  and  disturbed  the  Church.  Yet,  if 
he  will  turn  to  Church  history,  make  himself  acquainted 
with  its  details,  and  resume  his  study  of  the  Confession, 
he  will  be  often  surprised  to  find  in  one  place  the  wild 
theories  of  the  Gnostics  dispelled;  in  another,  the  Arian 
and  Socinian  heresies  set  aside;  in  another,  the  very 
essence  of  the  Papal  system  annihilated;  and  in  another, 
the  basis  of  all  Pelagian  and  Arminian  errors  removed. 
Thus  viewed,  the  Confession  of  Faith  might  be  so*con- 
nected  with  one*  aspect  of  Church  history  as  to  furnish, 
if  not  a  text- book  according  to  chronological  arrange- 
ment, in  studying  the  rise  and  refutation  of  heresies,  yet 
a  valuable  arrangement  of  their  relative  importance,  doc- 
trinally  considered.  And  when  we  advert  to  the  fact 
that,  owing  to  the  sameness  of  the  human  mind,  there 
is  a  perpetually  recurring  tendency  to  reproduce  an  old 
and  exploded  error,  as  if  it  were  a  new  discovery  of  some 
hitherto  unknown  or  neglected  truth,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  were  the  peculiar  excellence  of  our  Confession,  as 
a  deliverance  on  all  previously  existing  heresies,  better 
known  and  more  attended  to,  there  would  be  great 
reason  to  hope  that  their  re-appearance  would  be  ren- 
b 


XX  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

consists  in  the  clear  and  well-defined  statement  which 
it  makes  of  the  principles  on  which  alone  can  securely 
rest  the  great  idea  of  the  co-ordination,  yet  mutual  sup- 
port, of  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdictions.  It 
is  but  too  usual  for  people  to  misunderstand  those  parts 
of  the  Confession  which  treat  of  these  jurisdictions — 
some  accusing  those  passages  of  containing  Erastian  con- 
cessions, and  others  charging  them  with  being  either 
lawless  or  intolerant.  The  truth  is,  they  favour  no  ex- 
treme. Proceeding  upon  the  sacred  rule,  to  render  to 
Caesar  what  is  Caesar's,  and  to  God  what  is  God's,  they 
willingly  ascribe  to  the  civil  magistrate  a  supreme  power 
in  the  State — all  that  belongs  to  his  province,  not  merely 
with  regard  to  his  due  authority  over  the  persons  and 
property  of  men,  but  also  with  regard  to  what  pertains 
to  his  own  official  mode  of  rendering  homage  to  the 
King  of  kings.  It  is  in  this  latter  department  of  magis- 
terial duty  that  what  is  called  the  power  of  the  civil 
magistrate,  circa  sacra — about  religious  matters,  con- 
sists. But  there  his  province  ends,  and  he  has  no  power 
in  sacris — in  religious  matters.  This  is  most  carefully 
guarded  in  the  leading  proposition  of  chapter  xxx. : — 
44  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  King  and  Head  of  his 
..  Church,  hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in 
'the  hands  of  Church  Officers,  distinct  from  the 
Civil  Magistrate."  The  leading  Erastians  of  that 
period,  learned  and  subtle  as  they  were,  felt  it  impos- 
sible to  evade  the  force  of  that  proposition,  and  could 
but  refuse  to  give  to  it  the  sanction  of  the  Legislature. 
They  could  not,  however,  prevail  upon  the  Assembly 
either  to  modify  or  suppress  it;  and  there  it  remains, 
and  must  remain,  as  the  unanswered  and  unanswerable 
refutation  of  the  Erastian  heresy  by  the  Westminster 
Assembly  of  Divines.  In  modern  times  it  has  been  too 
much  the  custom  of  the  opponents  of  Erastianism  tacitly 
to  grant  the  Erastian  argument — or,  at  least,  the  prin- 
ciple on  which  it  rests — by  admitting,  or  even  asserting, 
that  if  a  Church  be  established,  it  must  cease  to  have  a 
separate  and  independent  jurisdiction,  and  must  obey 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXI 

the  laws  of  the  State,  even  in  spiritual  matters;  but  then 
declaring,  that  as  this  is  evidently  wrong,  there  ought  to 
be  no  Established  Church.  There  is  more  peril  to  both 
civil  and  religious  liberty  in  this  mode  of  evading  Eras- 
tianism  than  is  commonly  perceived;  for,  if  it  were  gene- 
rally admitted  that  an  Established  Church  ought  to  be 
subject,  even  in  spiritual  matters,  to  the  civil  jurisdiction 
of  the  State,  then  would  civil  rulers  have  a  direct  and 
admitted  interest  in  establishing  a  Church,  not  for  the 
sake  of  promoting  Christianity,  nor  with  the  view  of 
rendering  homage  to  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  but  for  the  purpose  of  employing  the  Church  as 
a  powerful  engine  of  State  policy.  That  they  would 
avail  themselves  of  such  an  admission  is  certain ;  and 
this  would  necessarily  tend  to  produce  a  perilous  con- 
test between  the  defenders  of  religious  liberty  and  the 
supporters  of  arbitrary  power;  and  if  the  issue  should  be 
the  triumph  of  Erastianism,  that  issue  would  inevitably 
involve  the  loss  of  both  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  the 
blending  of  the  two  jurisdictions — which  is  the  very  es- 
sence of  absolute  despotism.  Of  this  the  framers  of  our 
Confession  were  well  aware;  and,  therefore,  they  strove 
to  procure  the  well-adjusted  and  mutual  counterpoise 
and  co-operation  of  the  two  jurisdictions,  as  the  best 
safeguards  of  both  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  as 
founded  on  the  express  authority  of  the  Word  of  God. 
It  never  yet  has  been  proved,  from  either  Scripture  or 
reason,  that  they  were  wrong,  although  their  views  have 
been  much  misunderstood  and  grievously  misrepre- 
sented. But,  instead  of  prosecuting  this  topic,  we  refer 
to  the  comment  on  those  chapters  which  treat  of  the 
civil  magistrate,  of  synods,  and  of  Church  censures,  as 
giving  a  very  accurate  and  intelligible  explanation  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Confession  on  these  subjects. 

The* Confession  of  Faith  has  often  been  accused  of 
advocating  intolerant  and  persecuting  principles.  It 
is,  however,  in  truth,  equally  free  from  latitudinarian 
laxity  on  the  one  hand,  and  intolerance  on  the  other. 
An    intelligent    and    candid    perusal    of    chapter   xx., 


XX11  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

"  On  Christian  Liberty,  and  Liberty  of  Conscience," 
ought  of  itself  to  refute  all  such  calumnies.  The  mind 
of  man  never  produced  a  truer  or  nobler  proposition 
than  the  following: — "God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  con- 
science, and  hath  left  it  free  from  the  doctrines  and 
commandments  of  men,  which  are  in  anything  contrary 
to  his  Word,  or  beside  it,  in  matters  of  faith  or  worship." 
The  man  who  can  comprehend,  entertain,  and  act  upon 
that  principle,  can  never  arrogate  an  overbearing  and 
intolerant  authority  over  the  conscience  of  his  fellow- 
man,  much  less  wrield  against  him  the  weapons  of  re- 
morseless persecution.  But  there  is  a  very  prevalent, 
and  yet  very  false,  method  of  thinking,  or  pretending  to 
think,  respecting  toleration  and  liberty  of  conscience. 
Many  seem  to  be  of  opinion  that  toleration  consists  in 
making  no  distinction  between  truth  and  error,  but  re- 
garding them  with  equal  favour.  This  opinion,  if  care- 
fully analyzed,  would  be  found  to  be  essentially  of  an 
infidel  character.  Many  seem  to  think  that  by  liberty 
of  conscience  is  meant,  that  every  man  should  be  at 
liberty  to  act  in  everything  according  to  his  own  incli- 
nation, without  regard  to  the  feelings,  convictions,  and 
rights  of  other  men.  This  would,  indeed,  be  to  convert 
liberty  into  lawlessness,  and  to  make  conscience  of  licen- 
tiousness. But  the  Confession  proceeds  upon  the  prin- 
ciple that  truth  can  be  distinguished  from  error,  right 
from  wrong;  that  though  conscience  cannot  be  com- 
pelled, it  may  be  enlightened;  and  that  when  sinful, 
corrupt,  and  prone  to  licentiousness,  men  may  be  law- 
fully restrained  from  the  commission  of  such,  excesses  as 
are  offensive  to  public  feeling,  and  injurious  to  the  moral 
welfare  of  the  community.  If  this  be  intolerance,  it  is 
a  kind  of  intolerance  of  which  none  will  complain  but 
those  who  wish  to  be  free  from  all  restraint  of  law, 
human  or  divine.  Nothing,  in  our  opinion,  but  a  wil- 
ful determination  to  misrepresent  the  sentiments  ex- 
pressed in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  or  a  culpable  degree 
of  wilful  ignorance  respecting  the  true  meaning  of  these 
sentiments,  could  induce  any  man  to  accuse  it  of  favour- 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXU1 

ing  intolerant  and  persecuting  principles.  Certainly  the 
conduct  of  those  who  framed  it  gave  no  countenance  to 
such  an  accusation,  though  that  calumny  has  been  often 
and  most  pertinaciously  asserted.  On  this  point,  also, 
it  would  be  well  if  people  would  take  the  trouble  to 
ascertain  what  precise  meaning  the  framers  of  the  Con- 
fession gave  to  the  words  which  they  employed ;  for  it 
is  not  doing  justice  to  them  and  their  work  to  adopt 
some  modern  acceptation  of  a  term  used  by  them  in  a 
different  sense,  and  then  to  charge  them  with  holding 
the  sentiment  conveyed  by  the  modern  use  or  misuse  of 
that  term.  Yet  this  is  the  method  almost  invariably 
employed  by  the  assailants  of  the  Confession  of  Faith. 

III.  In  order  to  form  a  right  conception  of  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  some 
acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  period  in  which 
it  was  composed.  A  brief  outline,  however,  is  all 
that  our  present  space  can  afford.  There  was,  from  the 
beginning,  a  very  strong  and  essential  difference  be- 
tween the  Reformed  Churches  of  England  and  of  Scot- 
land; arising,  in  a  great  measure,  out  of  the  peculiar 
elements  prevailing  at  the  time  in  the  respective  king- 
doms. In  England,  the  Reformation  was  begun,  con- 
ducted, and  stopped,  almost  entirely  according  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  reigning  sovereign.  In  Scotland,  it  was 
begun,  carried  forward,  and  completed,  in  spite  of  the 
determined  opposition  of  the  sovereign.  In  England, 
therefore,  the  will  of  the  monarch  was  an  essential  ele- 
ment from  the  first,  and  continued  to  be  so  throughout 
the  course  of  the  Reformation;  and  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land was  accordingly  based  upon,  and  pervaded  by,  the 
evil  influence  of  the  Erastian  principle,  the  sovereign 
being  recognised  as  the  supreme  judge  in  causes  eccle- 
siastical as  well  as  in  causes  civil.  The  Church  of  Scot- 
land assumed  a  very  different  basis,  and  gave  her  undi- 
vided allegiance  to  a  far  other  King  :  she  assumed  as  the 
sole  rule  the  Word  of  God  alone,  and  the  whole  Word 
of  God,  in  all  matters  of  doctrine,  worship,  government, 


XXIV  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

and  discipline;  and  paid  her  allegiance  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  him  alone,  as  the  only  Head  and  King  of 
the  Church.  There  was,  therefore,  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  from  the  first,  a  degree  of  spiritual  indepen- 
dence— of  true  religious  liberty,  to  which  the  Church  of 
England  never  could  attain. 

This  spiritual  independence  enjoyed  by  the  Church  of 
Scotland  was  by  no  means  agreeable  to  James  VI.,  who 
set  himself  to  subvert  it  by  every  means  which  fraud 
(by  him  called  "  king-craft")  could  devise,  or  force  ac- 
complish. He  did  not  wholly  succeed,  though,  by 
banishing  the  faithful  and  the  fearless,  and  overawing 
the  timid,  he  did  manage  to  mould  it  somewhat  into 
conformity  with  his  arbitrary  will,  and  imposed  upon  it  a 
set  of  sycophantic  and  tyrannical  prelates.  His  sterner 
but  not  less  deceitful  son,  Charles  I.,  urged  on  by  the 
narrow-minded  and  cruel  Laud,  seeking  to  complete  what 
his  father  had  begun,  drove  Scotland  to  the  necessity  of 
rising  in  defence  of  her  liberties,  civil  and  sacred.  This 
gave  rise  to  the  great  National  Covenant  of  1638,  by 
which  the  people  of  almost  the  entire  kingdom  were 
knit  to  God  and  to  each  other,  in  a  solemn  bond  for  the 
maintenance  and  defence  of  sacred  truth  and  freedom. 
The  contest  proceeding,  a  General  Assembly  was  held 
at  Glasgow  towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  in  which 
the  system  of  Prelacy  was  abolished,  and  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Scotland  restored.  In  vain  did  the  king 
attempt  to  overthrow  this  second  Reformation,  even  by 
the  extreme  measure  of  an  attempted  invasion.  The  tide 
of  war  rolled  back  from  the  Scottish  borders,  and  the 
Church  and  kingdom  continued  covenanted  and  free. 

But  a  storm  had  been  long  gathering  in  England,  and 
was  ready  to  burst  forth  with  uncontrollable  might. 
Although  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  England 
had  been  paralized  in  all  its  elements,  and  stopped  short 
long  ere  it  had  reached  anything  like  completeness,  still 
there  were  many  who  ardently  desired  to  promote  the 
greater  purity  of  the  English  Church,  by  additional 
reforms  in  doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline.     This  could 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXV 

not  be  obtained ;  but  the  persevering  efforts  of  these  true 
Reformers  gave  rise  to  the  Puritan  party,  as  they  were 
designated,  and  prepared  for  a  more  intense  and  formid- 
able struggle.  On  the  other  hand,  while  the  Puritans 
were  striving  for  further  reform,  what  may  be  termed 
the  Court  party  were  receding  further  and  further  from 
the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  and  gradually  approxi- 
mating to  those  of  Rome.  The  evil  genius  of  the  un- 
happy Laud  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  His  influence 
urged  on  the  unfortunate  king  to  the  adoption  of  mea- 
sures formidable  alike  to  both  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
The  free  spirit  of  England  was  at  length  aroused ;  and 
the  contest  between  the  despotic  monarch  and  his  free- 
hearted subjects  began  to  assume  the  aspect  of  a  civil 
war.  The  Parliament  declared  its  own  sittings  perma- 
nent; and  regarding  the  despotic  principles  and  conduct 
of  the  bishops  as  the  direct  cause  of  the  oppression  un- 
der which  they  had  so  long  groaned,  passed  a  bill  for  the 
abolition  of  Prelacy.  The  king  unsheathed  the  sword  of 
civil  war;  and  the  English  Parliament  sought  the  as- 
sistance of  Scotland,  as  necessary  to  preserve  the  liber- 
ties of  both  kingdoms.  The  leading  Scottish  statesmen 
were  well  aware,  that  if  the  king  should  succeed  in  his 
attempt  to  overpower  the  English  Parliament,  he  would 
immediately  assail  Scotland  with  increased  power  and 
determination.  But  at  the  sametime,  as  their  whole 
contest  had  been  on  sacred  ground,  they  could  not  enter 
into  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  the  English 
Parliament  for  any  less  hallowed  cause,  or  with  any  less 
important  object  in  view.  Had  the  king  not  gone  be- 
yond his  own  province,  and  invaded  that  of  religion, 
they  would  have  left  his  jurisdiction  and  authority  un- 
questioned and  untouched.  For  such  reasons  they  would 
not  frame  with  England  a  civil  league,  except  it  were 
based  upon,  and  pervaded  by,  a  religious  covenant.  To 
these  views  England  consented  ;  and  the  consequence 
was,  the  formation  of  The  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant— a  document  which  we  cannot  help  regarding  as 
the  noblest  and  best,  in  its  essential  nature  and  princi- 


XXVI  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

pies,  of  all  that  are  recorded  among  the  international 
transactions  of  the  world. 

A  considerable  time  before  this  important  event  took 
place,  the  idea  had  been  entertained  in  England  that  it 
would  be  extremely  desirable  to  call  a  "  general  synod 
of  the  most  grave,  pious,  learned,  and  judicious  divines," 
for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  respecting  all  things 
necessary  for  the  peace  and  good  government  of  the 
Church.  This  desire  had  been  intimated  as  early  as 
1641;  while  it  was  not  till  June  12,  16*43,  that  Parlia- 
ment issued  the  Ordinance  calling  the  Assembly.  Al- 
though, therefore,  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 
exercised  no  little  influence  in  the  deliberations  of  that 
Assembly,  it  was  not  the  cause  of  that  Assembly  being 
held.  At  the  time  when  the  Assembly  was  called  to- 
gether, there  was  no  organized  Church  in  England. 
Prelacy  had  been  abolished,  and  no  other  form  of  Church 
government  was  in  existence.  It  did  not  meet  as  a 
Church  court,  in  any  accurate  sense  of  that  expression, 
but  was  in  reality  merely  an  assembly  of  divines,  called 
together  in  a  case  of  extreme  emergency,  to  consult,  de- 
liberate, and  advise,  but  not  to  exercise  directly  any  judi- 
cial or  ecclesiastical  functions.  This  it  is  necessary  to  bear 
in  mind,  not  for  the  purpose  of  casting  any  slight  upon 
its  character  and  proceedings,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  how  utterly  groundless  are  the  assertions  of 
those  who  charge  it  with  being  constituted  on  an  Erastian 
principle.  It  could  not  have  met  except  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Parliament.  It  was  not  an  ecclesiastical  court 
at  all ;  for  it  had  no  conformity  with  either  the  Epis- 
copalian, Presbyterian,  or  Congregational  systems  of 
Church  government ;  it  neither  ruled  the  Parliament,  nor 
was  ruled  by  the  Parliament ;  it  deliberated,  reasoned, 
voted,  formed  its  own  free  judgment  concerning  the 
important  matters  before  it,  and  gave  the  result  as  its 
advice  to  Parliament,  to  be  followed  or  rejected  by  that 
body  on  its  own  responsibility.  When  the  members  of 
Parliament,  who  formed  a  constituent  element  of  it  as 
lay  assessors,  strove  to  introduce  Erastian  principles  into 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XX  Vll 

its  decisions,  it  met  these  attempts  with  strong,  perseve- 
ring, and  invincible  opposition — willing  rather  that  its 
whole  protracted  labours  should  be  rejected,  than  that, 
by  any  weak  and  sinful  compromise,  it  should  consent 
to  the  admission  of  an  evil  principle. 

The  greater  part  of  the  divines  of  whom  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly  was  composed  were  of  the  Puritans ;  but 
nearly  all  of  these  had  been  originally  Episcopalians,  so  far, 
at  least,  as  regarded  their  ordination,  and  their  having 
held  the  ministerial  office  in  connection  with  the  Prelatic 
Establishment.  The  Independents  were  at  first  only 
five  in  number — Goodwin,  Nye,  Burroughs,  Bridge, 
and  Simpson — but  afterwards  increased  to  about  a  dozen. 
There  were  only  two  of  the  divines  that  entertained 
Erastian  principles — Lightfoot  and  Coleman.  The  Scot- 
tish commissioners,  appointed  to  consult  and  deliberate, 
but  not  to  vote,  were  six  in  number,  four  of  whom  were 
ministers — Henderson,  Bail  lie,  Rutherford,  and  Gil- 
lespie; and  two  elders — Lord  Maitland  and  Johnston 
of  Warriston.  The  whole  number  of  the  Assembly 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  forty-two  divines,  and 
thirty-two  lay  assessors;  but  of  this  number  seldom 
more  than  from  sixty  to  eighty  gave  regular  attendance. 
The  Assembly  was  convened  for  the  first  time  on  Satur- 
day, July  1,  1643,  and  it  continued  to  hold  regular 
meetings  till  February  22,  1 649  ;  when,  instead  of  being 
formally  dissolved,  it  was  formed  into  a  committee  for 
the  trial  of  ministers.  In  this  character  it  continued  to 
meet  occasionally  till  March  25,  1652,  when  Cromwell 
forcibly  dissolved  the  Long  Parliament,  and  put  an  end 
to  everything  to  which  it  had  given  existence.  The 
number  of  sessions  held  by  the  Westminster  Assembly 
was  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  the 
period  of  its  duration  five  years,  six  months,  and  twenty- 
one  days. 

The  general  result  of  the  Westminster  Assembly's 
deliberations  was  the  framing  of  the  Confession  of  Faith, 
the  Directory  for  Public  Worship,  a  Form  of  Church 
Government  and  Discipline,  and  the  Catechisms,  Larger 


XXV111  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

and  Shorter.  When  these  had  been  completed,  the 
Scottish  Commissioners  returned  to  their  own  country, 
laid  the  fruits  of  those  labours  in  which  they  had  been 
so  long  and  arduously  engaged  before  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  obtained  the 
ratification  of  those  important  productions.  So  careful, 
however,  was  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  guard  against 
the  possible  admission  of  anything  that  could  be  even 
suspected  to  have  the  slightest  taint  of  Erastianism, 
that  the  Assembly,  in  its  Act  approving  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  of  date  August  27,  1647,*  inserted  an  expla- 
nation of  chapter  xxxi.,  relating  to  the  authority  of  the 
civil  magistrate  to  call  a  synod — restricting  that  autho- 
rity to  the  case  of  "  Churches  not  settled  or  constituted 
in  point  of  government,"  and  protecting  the  right  of  the 
Church  to  hold  assemblies  on  its  own  authority,  "  by 
the  intrinsical  power  derived  from  Christ,"  even  though 
the  civil  magistrate  should  deny  his  consent.  To  this 
the  Scottish  Parliament  offered  no  opposition ;  but  the 
English  Parliament  refused,  or  at  least  declined,  to  ratify 
or  sanction  it,  and  re -committed  certain  particulars  in 
discipline.  These  particulars  were  section  4,  chapter  xx., 
"Of  Christian  Liberty,  and  Liberty  of  Conscience;" 
chapter  xxx.,  "  Of  Church  Censures;"  and  chapter 
xxxi.,  *'  Of  Synods  and  Councils."  Let  the  intelligent 
and  candid  reader  peruse  carefully  the  above-named 
passages,  and  he  cannot  but  perceive  the  folly,  absurdity, 
or  perverse  malevolence  of  those  who  accuse  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  being  tainted  with  intolerance  and 
Erastianism;  since  the  very  passages  on  which  such 
persons  pretend  to  found  their  accusations  were  those 
which  the  decidedly  Erastian,  and  not  peculiarly  tole- 
rant Parliament  of  England,  refused  to  sanction.  It 
is  painful  to  be  constrained  even  to  allude  to  the  con- 
tinued fabrication  of  such  calumnious  charges,  and  that, 
too,  by  some  who  either  do  know,  or  ought  to  know, 
that  they  are  utterly  untrue.  "  What  shall  I  do  in 
order  to  become  famous  ? "  said  an  ambitious  youth  to 
*  The  reader  will  find  this  Act  prefixed —  Vide  page  v. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXIX 

an  ancient  sophist.  "  Kill  a  man  who  is  famous  al- 
ready, and  then  your  name  will  be  always  mentioned 
along  with  his,"  was  the  sophist's  reply.  On  some  such 
principle  those  men  seem  to  act,  who  charge  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  with  intolerance,  as  if  that  were  the 
ready  way  to  procure  renown.  But  the  sophist  neglected 
to  draw  the  distinction  between  fame  and  infamy;  and 
it  may  ultimately  appear  that  those  who  seek  celebrity 
by  attempting  to  kill  the  reputation  of  the  Westminster 
divines,  have  committed  a  similar  mistake. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  prosecute  the  vindica- 
tion of  the  Westminster  Assembly  and  the  Confession 
of  Faith.  That  has  been  effectually  done  recently  by 
various  publications,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 
This  only  would  we  further  state,  with  regard  to  such 
accusations,  that  Presbyterians  in  general,  and  Scottish 
Presbyterians  in  particular,  have  long  been  guilty  of 
the  most  ungrateful  neglect  and  disregard  towards  the 
memories  of  the  truly  great  and  good  men  by  whom  the 
admirable  subordinate  standards  of  their  Church  were 
framed.  It  would  be  absurd  to  ascribe  perfection  either 
to  the  men  or  to  their  works ;  but  it  is  worse  than  absurd 
to  permit  them  to  be  vilified  by  assailants  of  all  kinds, 
certainly  in  no  respect  the  equals  of  these  men,  without 
uttering  one  word  in  their  defence.  The  best  mode 
of  defending  them,  however,  is  to  draw  to  them  the 
quickened  attention  of  the  public  mind.  Let  them  be 
read  and  studied  profoundly;  let  them  be  exposed  to 
the  most  minute  and  sifting  examination ;  let  every  pro- 
position be  severely  tested  by  the  strictest  laws  of  rea- 
soning and  by  the  supreme  standard  of  the  Word  of 
God.  Whatever  cannot  endure  this  investigation,  let  it 
be  cast  aside,  as  tried  in  the  balance  and  found  wanting ; 
for  this  is  only  consistent  with  its  own  frank  admission, 
that  "  all  synods  and  councils,  since  the  apostles'  times, 
whether  general  or  particular,  may  err,  and  many  have 
erred;  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  made  the  rule  of 
faith  or  practice,  but  to  be  used  as  a  help  in  both."  But 
so  far  as  it  does  stand  an  examination  so  searching — and 


XXX  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

of  that  we  have  no  fear — let  it  no  longer  be  exposed  to 
the  wanton  assaults  of  rude  ignorance,  guileful  calumny, 
or  bitter  malevolence.  This,  and  nothing  less  than  this, 
is  due  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead,  and  to  the 
living  Confession  of  their  Faith,  and  to  our  own  reve- 
rential attachment  to  the  sacred  doctrines  therein  stated 
and  maintained. 

IV.  Our  prefatory  remarks  were  begun  by  directing 
attention  to  the  necessity  for  the  existence  of  Creeds  and 
Confessions,  and  the  important  purposes  subserved  by 
these  subordinate  standards;  and  we  resume  that  view 
for  the  purpose  of  stating  the  inference  to  which  it 
ought  to  lead.  Since  a  Church  cannot  exist  without 
some  Confession,  or  mode  of  ascertaining  that  its  mem- 
bers are  agreed  in  their  general  conception  of  what  they 
understand  divine  truth  to  mean ;  and  since  the  succes- 
sive rise  of  heretical  opinions,  and  their  successive 
refutation,  necessarily  tends  to  an  enlargement  of  the 
Confession,  and  at  the  sametime  to  an  increasing  deve- 
lopment of  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  ought  it  not 
to  follow,  that  the  various  Confessions  of  separate 
Churches  would  have  a  constant  tendency  to  approxi- 
mate, till  they  should  all  blend  in  one  harmonious  Con- 
fession of  one  Church  general  ?  No  one  who  has  studied 
a  harmony  of  Protestant  Confessions  can  hesitate  to  ad- 
mit that  this  is  a  very  possible,  as  it  is  a  most  desirable, 
result.  When,  further,  we  rise  to  that  spiritual  element  to 
which  also  our  attention  has  been  directed,  we  may  antici- 
pate an  increasing  degree  of  enlightenment  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  bestowed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  answer  to 
the  earnest  prayers  of  sincere  and  humble  faith,  which 
will  greatly  tend  to  hasten  forward  and  secure  an  amount 
of  Christian  unity  in  faith  and  love  far  beyond  what  has 
existed  since  the  times  of  the  apostles.  Entertaining 
this  pleasing  idea,  we  might  expect  both  that  the  latest 
Confession  of  Faith  framed  by  a  Protestant  Church 
would  be  the  most  perfect,  and  also  that  it  might  form 
a  basis  of  evangelical  union  to  the  whole  Church.     To 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXXI 

some  this  may  seem  a  startling,  or  even  an  extravagant 
idea.  But  let  it  be  remembered,  that,  owing  to  a  pecu- 
liar series  of  unpropitious  circumstances,  the  West- 
minster Assembly's  Confession  of  Faith  has  never  yet 
been  adequately  known  to  the  Christian  Churches.  By 
the  Scottish  Church  alone  was  it  fully  received ;  and  in 
consequence  of  the  various  events  which  have  since  be- 
fallen that  Church,  comparatively  little  attention  has 
been  paid  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  till  recent  times. 
It  is  now,  we  trust,  in  the  process  of  becoming  more 
known  and  better  understood  than  formerly;  and  we  feel 
assured  that  the  more  it  is  known  and  the  better  it  is 
understood,  the  more  highly  will  its  great  and  varied 
excellences  be  estimated.  This  will  tend,  at  the  same- 
time,  to  direct  to  it  the  attention  of  other  Churches;  and 
we  cannot  help  anticipating  the  degree  of  surprise  which 
will  be  felt  by  many  ingenuous  minds,  that  they  had 
remained  so  long  unacquainted  with  a  production  of 
such  remarkable  value.  Should  this  be  the  case,  as  we 
venture  to  hope,  and  should  any  serious  objections  be 
entertained  by  fair  and  candid  minds  with  regard  to 
some  expressions  in  the  Confession,  there  could  be  no 
great  difficulty  in  appending  to  these  some  slight  verbal 
explanations,  showing  what  they  were  intended  to  mean, 
and  how  we  understand  them  ;  for  we  are  fully  per- 
suaded that  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  objections 
that  could  be  entertained  by  any  evangelical  Christian 
or  Church  would  relate  merely  to  peculiar  terms,  and 
would  be  founded  almost  entirely  on  a  misconception 
of  what  meaning  these  terms  were  intended  to  convey. 
For  our  own  part,  we  wish  no  alteration,  even  of  a  single 
word  ;  but  neither  do  we  think  it  necessary  to  allow  the 
erroneous  interpretation  of  a  word  to  operate  as  an  ob- 
stacle to  the  reception  by  other  Churches  of  our  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  if,  by  the  explanation  of  that  word,  the 
obstacle  might  be  removed. 

Such  a  result  would  be  the  realization  of  the  great 
idea  entertained  by  the  leading  members  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  and  especially  by  the  Scottish  com- 


XXX11  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

raissioners — with  whom,  indeed,  it  originated.  No  nar- 
row and  limited  object  could  satisfy  the  desires  and 
anticipations  of  these  enlightened  and  large-hearted  men. 
With  one  comprehensive  glance  they  surveyed  the  con- 
dition of  Christendom  and  the  world — marked  its  neces- 
sities, and  contemplated  the  remedy.  Thus  they  formed 
the  great,  and  even  sublime  idea  of  a  Protestant  union 
throughout  Christendom;  not  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  counterbalancing  Popery,  but  in  order  to  purify, 
strengthen,  and  unite  all  true  Christian  Churches;  so 
that,  with  combined  energy  and  zeal,  they  might  go 
forth,  in  glad  compliance  with  the  Redeemer's  com- 
mands, teaching  all  nations,  and  preaching  the  everlast- 
ing gospel  to  every  creature  under  heaven.  Such  was 
the  magnificent  conception  of  men  whom  it  has  been  too 
much  the  fashion  to  stigmatize  as  narrow-minded  bigots. 
It  is  not  in  the  heart  of  a  bigot  that  a  love  able  to  em- 
brace Christendom  could  be  cherished — it  is  not  in  the 
mind  of  a  bigot  that  an  idea  of  such  moral  sublimity 
could  be  conceived.  It  may  be  said,  no  doubt,  that  this 
idea  was  premature.  Premature  it  was  in  one  sense; 
for  it  could  not  be  then  realized ;  but  the  statement  of 
it  was  not  premature,  for  it  was  the  statement  of  the 
grand  result  which  ought  to  have  been  produced  by  the 
Reformation.  In  still  another  sense  it  was  not  prema- 
ture, any  more  than  it  is  premature  to  sow  the  seed  in 
spring  from  which  we  expect  to  reap  the  autumnal  har- 
vest. The  seed  must  be  sown  before  the  harvest  can  be 
produced — the  idea  must  be  stated  before  it  can  be  rea- 
lized. It  must  then  be  left  to  work  its  way  into  the 
mind  of  man — to  grow,  and  strengthen,  and  enlarge,  till 
in  due  time  it  shall  produce  its  fruit  in  its  season. 

May  it  not  be  hoped  that  the  fruit-bearing  season  is 
at  hand?  All  things  seem  hastening  forward  to  some 
mighty  change  or  development.  On  all  sides  the  ele- 
ments of  evil  are  mustering  with  almost  preternatural 
rapidity  and  power.  Popery  has,  to  an  unexpected 
degree,  recovered  from  its  deadly  wound  and  its  ex- 
hausted weakness,  and  is  putting  forth  its  destructive 


iNTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXX111 

energies  in  every  quarter  of  the  world.  In  England  the 
dread  aspect  of  Laudean  Prelacy  has  re-appeared — called, 
indeed,  by  a  new  name,  but  displaying  all  the  formidable 
characteristics  of  its  predecessor — the  same  in  its  lofty 
pretensions,  in  its  Popish  tendencies,  in  its  supercilious 
contempt  of  every  other  Church,  and  in  its  persecuting 
spirit.  The  civil  government  appears  to  be  impelled  by 
something  like  infatuation,  and  is  introducing,  or  giving 
countenance  to,  measures  that  are  darkly  ominous  to 
both  civil  and  religious  liberty,  as  if  hastening  onward 
to  a  crisis  which  all  may  shudder  to  contemplate.  The 
masses  of  the  community  are  in  a  state  ripe  for  any  con- 
vulsion, however  terrible,  having  been  left  for  genera- 
tions uneducated  and  uninstructed  in  religious  truth. 
The  Scottish  Ecclesiastical  Establishment  has  been  rent 
asunder;  its  constitution  has  been  changed,  or  rather 
subverted;  and  those  who  firmly  maintained  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Church  of  Scotland  have  been  constrained 
to  separate  from  the  State,  in  order  to  preserve  these 
principles  unimpaired.  The  Church  of  Scotland  is  again 
disestablished,  as  she  has  been  in  former  times ;  but  she 
is  free — free  to  maintain  all  those  sacred  principles  be- 
queathed to  her  by  reformers,  and  divines,  and  martyrs 
— free  to  offer  to  all  other  evangelical  Churches  the 
right  hand  of  brotherly  love  and  fellowship — free  to 
engage  with  them  in  the  formation  of  a  great  evangelical 
union,  on  the  firm  basis  of  sacred  and  eternal  truth. 
Surely  these  concurring  events  are  enough  to  constrain 
all  who  are  able  to  comprehend  them,  to  long  for  some 
sure  rallying  ground  on  which  the  defenders  of  religious 
truth  and  liberty  may  plant  their  standard.  Such 
rallying  ground  we  think  the  Confession  of  Faith  would 
afford,  were  its  principles  carefully  considered  and  fully 
understood.  And  we  would  fondly  trust  we  may  che- 
rish the  hope  of  at  length  accomplishing  the  Christian 
enterprise  for  which  the  Westminster  Assembly  met 
together,  and  of  realizing  the  great  idea  which  filled  the 
minds  of  its  most  eminent  Christian  patriots. 

"The  errors  which  prevented  the  success  of  the  West- 
c 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

minster  Assembly  may  be  to  us  beacons,  both  warning 
from  danger  and  guiding  on  to  safety.  In  their  case, 
political  influence  and  intrigue  formed  one  baneful  ele- 
ment of  deadly  power.  Let  all  political  influence  be  dis- 
trusted and  avoided,  and  let  political  intrigue  be  utterly 
unknown  in  all  our  religious  deliberations.  In  times  of 
trouble  and  alarm,  '  Trust  not  in  princes,  nor  in  the  sons 
of  men,'  with  its  divine  counterpart,  'Trust  in  the  Lord, 
and  stay  yourselves  upon  your  God,'  should  be  the 
watchword  and  reply  of  all  true  Christian  Churches. 
Dissensions  among  brethren,  groundless  jealousies,  and 
misconstructions,  and  want  of  openness  and  candour, 
were  grievously  pernicious  to  the  Westminster  Assembly. 
If  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents  could  have 
banished  the  spirit  of  dissension,  expelled  all  petty  jea- 
lousy, and  laid  their  hearts  open  to  each  other  in  godly 
simplicity  and  sincerity,  all  the  uniformity  that  was 
really  necessary  might  have  been  easily  obtained.  And 
if  all  truly  evangelical  Christians,  whether  they  be  Pres- 
byterians, or  Independents,  or  Baptists,  or  Methodists,  or 
Episcopalians,  such  as  some  that  could  be  named,  would 
but  give  full  scope  to  their  already  existing  and  strong 
principles  and  feelings  of  faith  and  hope  and  love,  there 
could  be  little  difficulty  in  framing  such  a  Christian 
union — term  it  Presbyterian  or  Evangelical,  so  that  it  be 
truly  scriptural — as  might  be  able,  by  the  blessing  and 
the  help  of  God,  to  stem  and  bear  back  the  growing  and 
portentous  tide  of  Popery  and  Infidelity,  that  threaten, 
with  their  proud  waves,  once  more  to  overwhelm  the 
world. 

"  Has  not  the  time  for  this  great  evangelical  and  scrip- 
tural union  come  ?  It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  look 
abroad  upon  the  general  aspect  of  the  world  with  even  a 
hasty  glance,  without  perceiving  indications  of  an  almost 
universal  preparation  for  some  great  event.  The  nations 
of  the  earth  are  still — not  in  peace,  but  like  wearied 
combatants,  resting  on  their  arms  a  brief  breathing  space, 
that,  w7ith  recovered  strength  and  quickened  animosity, 
they  may  spring  anew  to  the  mortal  struggle.     During 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY.  XXXV 

this  fallacious  repose  there  has  been,  and  there  is,  an  ex- 
ertion of  the  most  intense  and  restless  activity,  by  prin- 
ciples the  most  fiercely  hostile,  for  the  acquisition  of 
partisans.     Despotism  and  Democracy,  Superstition  and 
Infidelity,  have  alike  been  mustering  their  powers  and 
calling  forth  their  energies,  less  apparently  for  mutual 
destruction,  according  to  their  wont  and  nature,  than  in 
order  to  form  an  unnatural  coalition  and  conspiracy  against 
the  very  existence  of  free,  pure,  and  spiritual  Christi- 
anity.    Nor,  in  one  point  of  view,  has  Christianity  been 
recently  lying  supine  and  dormant.    Many  a  noble  enter- 
prise for  the  extension  of  the  gospel  at  home  and  abroad 
has  been  planned  and  executed;  and  the  great  doctrines 
of  saving  truth  have  been  clearly  explained  and  boldly 
proclaimed,  with  earnest  warmth  and  uncompromising 
faithfulness.     A  time  of  refreshing  also  has  come  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord — a  spirit  of  revival  has  been 
poured  forth  upon  the  thirsty  Church,  and  the  hearts  of 
Christian  brethren  have  learned  to  melt  and  blend  with 
a  generous  and  rejoicing  sympathy,  to  which  they  had  too 
long  been  strangers.     Can  all  these  things  be  beheld  and 
passed  lightly  over,  as  leading  to  nothing,  and  portend- 
ing nothing?     That  were  little  short  of  blind  infatuation. 
What  they  do  fully  portend  it  were  presumptuous  to  say; 
but  it  is  not  difficult  to  say  for  what  they  form  an  un- 
precedented preparation.     What  now  prevents  a  world- 
wide  evangelical   and    scriptural   union?     'All    things 
are  prepared,  come  to  the  marriage.'     '  If  ye  love  Me, 
love  one  another.'     '  Because  He  laid  down  his  life  for 
us,  we  also  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.' 
Had  these  been  fully  the  principles  and  rules  of  conduct 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  its  great  idea  might  have 
been  realized.     Let  them  be  those  that  animate  and 
guide  all  Christian  Churches  now.     They  have  been  ftjlt 
in  our  great  unions  for  prayer ;  they  should  be  felt  by  all 
who  venerate  and  can  understand  the  standards  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly.     And  if  they  be,  then  may  we 
not  only  accomplish  the  object  of  its  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant,  concur  in  its  Confession  of  Faith,  and  rea- 


kXXVi  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 

lize  its  great  idea  of  a  general  evangelical  union;  but 
we  may  also,  if  such  be  the  will  of  our  Divine  Head  and 
King,  be  mightily  instrumental  in  promoting  the  uni- 
versal propagation  of  the  gospel,  and  drawing  down 
from  above  the  fulfilled  answer  of  that  sacred  prayer  in 
which  we  all  unite — 'Thy  kingdom  come:  Thy  will 

BE  DONE  ON  EARTH  AS  IT  IS  IN  HEAVEN."' 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


CHAPTER  I. 


OF  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


Section  I. — Although  the  light  of  nature,  and  the  works 
of  creation  and  providence,  do  so  far  manifest  the  good- 
ness, wisdom,  and  power  of  God,  as  to  leave  men  inex- 
cusable ; *  yet  they  are  not  sufficient  to  give  that  know- 
ledge of  God,  and  of  his  will,  which  is  necessary  unto 
salvation : 2  therefore  it  pleased  the  Lord,  at  sundry  times, 
and  in  divers  manners,  to  reveal  himself,  and  to  declare 
that  his  will  unto  his  Church ; 3  and  afterwards,  for  the 
better  preserving  and  propagating  of  the  truth,  and  for 
the  more  sure  establishment  and  comfort  of  the  Church 
against  the  corruption  of  the  flesh,  and  the  malice  of 
Satan  and  of  the  world,  to  commit  the  same  wholly 
unto  writing ; 4  which  maketh  the  Holy  Scripture  to  be 
most  necessary ; 5  those  former  ways  of  God's  revealing 
his  will  unto  his  people  being  now  ceased.8 


1  Rom.ii.  14,  15;  i.  19,  20.    Ps.xix. 
1-3.     Rom.  i.  32;  ii.  1. 
1  Cor.  i.  21 ;  ii.  13,  14. 
3  Hebrews  i.  1. 


4  Prov.  xxii.  19-21.     Luke  i.  3,  4. 

Rom.  xv.  4.     Matt.  iv.  4,  7,  10. 

Isa.  viii.  19,  20. 
6  2  Tim.  iii.  15.    2  Pet.  i.  19. 
*  Hebrew8  i.  1,  2. 


EXPOSITION. 

There  are  few  doctrines  of  supernatural  revelation  that 
have  not,  in  one  period  or  another,  been  denied  or  contro- 
verted ;  and  it  is  a  peculiar  excellence  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  that  its  compilers  have  stated  the  several 
articles  in  terms  the  best  calculated,  not  only  to  convey  an 
accurate  idea  of  sacred  truths,  but  to  guard  against  contrary 


2  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £  CHAP.  I. 

errors.  In  opposition,  .on  the  one  hand,  to  those  who  deny 
the  existence  of  natural  religion,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
in  opposition  to  Deists,  who  maintain  the  sufficiency  of  the 
light  of  nature  to  guide  men  to  eternal  happiness,  this  section 
asserts, —  ■ 

1.  That  a  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  God,  and  a  num- 
ber of  his  perfections,  is  attainable  by  the  light  of  nature, 
and  the  works  of  creation  and  providence. 

2.  That  the  light  of  nature  is  insufficient  to  give  fallen 
man  that  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his  will,  which  is  neces- 
sary unto  salvation. 

3.  That  God  has  been  pleased  to  grant  to  his  Church  a 
supernatural  revelation  of  his  will. 

4.  That  this  revelation  has  been  committed  to  writing,  and 
that  the  Holy  Scripture  is  most  necessary,  the  ancient  modes 
of  God's  revealing  his  will  unto  his  people  being  now  ceased. 

First.  That  there  is  a  God  is  the  first  principle  of  all  re- 
ligion, whether  natural  or  revealed,  and  we  are  here  taught 
that  the  being  of  God  and  a  number  of  his  perfections  may 
be  discovered  by  the  light  of  nature.  By  the  word  God  is 
meant  a  Being  of  infinite  perfection ;  self-existent  and  inde- 
pendent ;  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Lord  of  all  things. 
"  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  to  give  a  perfect  definition  of  God 
is  impossible,  neither  can  our  finite  reason  hold  any  pro- 
portion with  infinity ;  but  yet  a  sense  of  this  Divinity  we 
have,  and  the  first  and  common  notion  of  it  consists  in  these 
three  particulars, — that  it  is  a  Being  of  itself,  and  independent 
from  any  other  ;  that  it  is  that  upon  which  all  things  that 
are  made  depend  ;  that  it  governs  all  things."  *  When  we 
affirm  that  the  being  of  God  may  be  discovered  by  the  light 
of  nature,  we  mean,  that  the  senses  and  the  reasoning  powers, 
which  belong  to  the  nature  of  man,  are  able  to  give  him  so 
much  light  as  to  manifest  that  there  is  a  God.  By  our  senses 
we  are  acquainted  with  his  works,  and  by  his  works  our 
reason  may  be  led  to  trace  out  that  more  excellent  Being  who 
made  them.  This  the  Scripture  explicitly  asserts,  Rom.  i.  19, 
20  :  "  That  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them 
(i.  e.9  in  men),  for  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them.  For  the  invi- 
sible things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly 
seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his 
eternal  power  and  Godhead."  The  existence  of  God  is  not 
less  indubitable  than  our  own  existence.  Every  man  knows, 
with  absolute  certainty,  that  he  himself  exists.  He  knows 
also  that  he  had  a  beginning,  and  that  he  derived  his  being 
from  a  succession  of  creatures  like  himself.  However  far 
*  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  Art.  I. 


SECT.  1.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  3 

back  he  supposes  this  succession  to  be  carried,  it  does  not 
afford  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  cause  of  his  existence. 
His  ancestors  were  no  more  able  to  make  themselves  than 
he  was  ;  he  must,  therefore,  ascend  to  some  original  Being, 
who  had  no  beginning,  but  had  life  in  himself  from  all  eter- 
nity, and  who  gives  life  and  being  to  all  other  creatures.  This 
is  the  Being  whom  we  call  God.  But  "  we  are  not  only  con- 
scious of  our  own  existence,  we  also  know  that  there  exists 
a  great  variety  of  other  things,  both  material  and  spiritual. 
It  is  equally  inconceivable  that  these  things  should  have  ex- 
isted from  all  eternity  in  their  present  state,  or  that  they 
should  have  fallen  into  this  state  by  chance ;  and,  conse- 
quently, as  there  was  a  time  when  they  did  not  exist,  and  as 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  produce  themselves,  it  follows 
that  there  was  some  exterior  agent  or  creator  to  whom  the 
world  owed  its  beginning  and  form  :  that  agent  or  creator 
we  call  God."  *  The  amazing  works  of  providence,  the  re- 
gular and  unerring  motions  of  the  heavenly  luminaries  for 
so  many  thousand  years,  the  never  failing  return  of  summer 
and  winter,  seed-time  and  harvest,  day  and  night,  and  innu- 
merable other  wonders,  clearly  manifest  the  existence  of  a 
Supreme  Being,  who  upholds  and  governs  all  things.  In  the 
works  of  creation  and  providence,  too,  we  see  the  clearest 
characters  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness.  "  The 
more  that  we  know  of  these  works,  we  are  the  more  sensible 
that  in  nature  there  is  not  only  an  exertion  of  power,  but  an 
adjustment  of  means  to  an  end,  which  is  what  we  call  wis- 
dom, and  an  adjustment  of  means  to  the  end  of  distributing 
happiness  to  all  the  creatures,  which  is  the  highest  concep- 
tion that  we  can  form  of  goodness."  + 

As  the  marks  of  .a  Deity  are  so  clearly  impressed  upon  all 
the  works  of  creation,  so  we  learn  from  the  history  of  former 
times,  and  from  the  observation  of  modern  travellers,  that  in 
every  country,  and  at  every  period,  some  idea  of  a  Superior 
Being,  and  some  species  of  divine  worship,  have  prevailed. 
The  persuasion  of  a  God  is  universal,  and  the  most  ancient 
records  do  not  conduct  us  to  a  period  in  the  history  of  any 
people  when  it  did  not  exist.  That  truth  must  certainly  be 
a  dictate  of  nature,  to  which  all  nations  have  consented. 
There  is  much  practical  Atheism  in  the  world,  but  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  any  have  been  able  entirely  to  erase  from 
their  mind  the  impression  of  a  Supreme  Being.  It  is,  indeed, 
affirmed,  Ps.  xiv.  1,  "  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There 
is  no  God  ; "  but  it  is  rather  the  wish  of  the  unsanctified 

*  Pretyman's  Elements  of  Christian  Theology,  vol.  ii.  p.  62. 
t  Hill's  Lectures,  vol.  i.  p.  0. 


4  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  I. 

affections,  than  the  proper  determination  of  the  deliberate 
judgment,  which  these  words  express.  Though  some  may 
in  words  disavow  the  being  of  God,  yet  the  terrors  which 
they  feel  in  their  own  breasts,  especially  upon  the  commission 
of  some  daring  wickedness,  force  upon  them  the  conviction 
that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  who  will  judge  and  punish 
the  transgressors  of  his  law.  Conscience,  indeed,  is  in  the 
place  of  a  thousand  witnesses  to  this  truth.  The  Apostle 
Paul,  who  tells  us  that  "  there  is  a  law  written  in  the  hearts 
of  men,"  adds  that  u  their  conscience  bears  witness,  and  their 
thoughts  accuse,  or  else  excuse  one  another." — Rom.  ii.  15. 
Conscience  reproves,  condemns,  and  scourges  a  man  for  his 
wicked  deeds,  and  anticipates  the  account  which  he  must 
give  of  all  his  actions,  and  thus  demonstrates  that  there  is  a 
God.  The  Scriptures,  accordingly,  take  the  being  of  God  for 
granted,  and  instead  of  first  proving  that  there  is  a  God,  begin 
with  telling  us  what  God  did.  "  In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth." — Gen.  i.  1. 

This  knowledge  of  God,  which  is  attainable  by  the  light  of 
nature,  serves  various  useful  purposes.  It  is  a  testimony  of  the 
goodness  of  God  towards  all  his  creatures. — Acts  xiv.  17.  As 
it  shows  men  their  duty,  and  convinces  them  of  sin,  in  many 
points  ;  so  it  has  had  some  influence  on  mankind,  at  least  by 
the  fear  of  punishment,  in  restraining  them  from  extreme 
degrees  of  wickedness. — Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  It  excites  men  to 
seek  after  a  clearer  revelation  of  God,  and  prepares  the 
way  for  their  receiving  the  gospel  of  his  grace. — Acts  xvii. 
27.  It  serves  to  vindicate  the  conduct  of  God  as  a  righteous 
governor,  in  his  severe  dealing  with  obstinate  sinners,  both 
here  and  hereafter.  This  will  leave  them  without  excuse  in 
the  great  day,  when  God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  all  hearts. 
—Rom.  i.  20,  21,  and  ii.  15,  16.  But  the  knowledge  of  God 
by  the  light  of  nature  being  obscure  and  defective, 

The  second  proposition  asserts  the  insufficiency  of  the  light 
of  nature  to  give  fallen  man  that  knowledge  of  God,  and  of 
his  will,  which  is  necessary  unto  salvation.  The  extent  of 
knowledge,  in  regard  to  the  things  of  God,  which  man  is 
capable  of  attaining,  cannot  be  ascertained  from  the  writings 
of  modern  Deists,  who,  how  much  soever  they  affect  to 
despise  supernatural  revelation,  have  derived  the  greater 
part  of  their  sentiments  respecting  God,  and  moral  obliga- 
tion, from  that  source.  The  history  of  past  times  and  an- 
cient nations  shows,  that  the  greater  part  of  mankind,  in 
every  country  destitute  of  supernatural  revelation,  knew  but 
little  of  the  true  God,  or  of  their  duty  towards  him.  "  The 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God  ;"  even  the  learned  Athe- 


SECT.  1.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  5 

nians  were  so  ignorant  of  the  true  God  that  they  dedicated 
an  altar  "  to  the  unknown  God."  The  heathen  world  was  sunk 
in  the  most  abominable  idolatry  and  gross  superstition.  Not 
only  were  the  heavenly  luminaries  deified,  but  almost  every 
creature  on  earth  was  worshipped  as  a  god,  and  innumerable 
imaginary  beings  had  divine  honours  paid  them.  Though 
some  heathen  philosophers  attained  some  considerable  know- 
ledge of  the  nature  of  God,  and  inculcated  upon  their  fol- 
lowers several  moral  virtues,  this  did  not  prevent  them  from 
complying  with  the  idolatry  of  their  country,  or  deter  them 
from  the  commission  of  the  most  gross  and  unnatural  crimes. 
— Rom.  i.  21-28.  From  the  light  of  nature  we  may  learn 
that  there  is  evil  both  moral  and  penal  in  the  world  ;  but  as 
to  the  question  how  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  how 
deliverance  from  it  may  be  obtained,  the  light  of  nature  is 
entirely  silent.  It  shows  men  their  sin  and  misery,  but  it 
discovers  not  the  plain  and  certain  way  of  salvation.  The 
Scriptures  assure  us,  that  there  is  no  salvation  for  sinful  men 
in  any  other  name  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ, — that  there  is  no 
salvation  through  him  but  by  faith,  and  that  there  can  be  no 
faith  nor  knowledge  of  Christ  but  by  revelation. — Acts  iv. 
12  ;  Mark  xvi.  16  ;  Rom.  x.  14-17.  The  Scripture  affirms, 
in  terms  the  most  express,  that  "  where  there  is  no  vision," 
or  revelation,  "  the  people  perish  f  and  it  describes  those 
who  are  destitute  of  divine  revelation,  as  "  having  no  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world." — Prov.  xxix.  18  ;  Eph.  ii. 
12.  God  does  nothing  in  vain  ;  and  were  the  light  of  nature 
sufficient  to  guide  men  to  eternal  happiness,  it  cannot  be 
supposed  that  a  divine  revelation  would  have  been  given. 
But  — 

The  third  proposition  asserts,  that  God  has  been  pleased  to 
grant  to  his  Church  a  supernatural  revelation  of  his  will. 
It  cannot  be  considered  as  a  thing  incredible  that  God  should 
make  a  revelation  of  his  mind  and  will  to  men.  Has  he 
framed  men  so  as  that  they  should  be  capable  of  making 
known  their  mind  to  one  another,  by  speech  and  by  writing  \ 
And  shall  it  be  deemed  a  thing  incredible  that  he  should 
communicate  his  mind  to  them  in  a  similar  way  ?  "  It  was, 
indeed,  out  of  infinite  love,  mercy,  and  compassion,  that  God 
would  at  all  reveal  his  mind  and  will  unto  sinners.  He 
might  for  ever  have  locked  up  the  treasures  of  his  wisdom 
and  prudence,  wherein  he  abounds  towards  us  in  his  Word, 
in  his  own  eternal  breast.  He  might  have  left  all  the  sons 
of  men  unto  that  woful  darkness,  whereinto  by  sin  they  had 
cast  themselves,  and  kept  them,  with  the  angels  who  sinned 
before  them,  under  the  chains  and  power  of  it,  unto  the 


6  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  f CHAP.  I. 

judgment  of  the  great  day.  But  from  infinite  love  he  con- 
descended to  reveal  himself  and  his  will  unto  us."  *  The 
mind  of  God  was  not  revealed  to  the  Church  all  at  once,  but 
by  several  parts  and  degrees,  as  in  his  infinite  wisdom  he  saw 
meet.  He  spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets  "  at  sun- 
dry times,  and  in  divers  manners." — Heb.  i.  1.  The  "sun- 
dry times  "  may  be  understood  "  as  referring  to  the  matter  of 
ancient  revelation,  given  in  different  parts,  and  at  different 
times,  thus  conveying  the  idea  of  the  gradual  development 
of  truth  in  different  ages,  and  by  different  persons  ;"  and  the 
"divers  manners"may  be  understood  "as  indicating  the  taiious 
ways  in  which  these  revelations  were  communicated, — i.  e.,  by 
dreams,  visions,  symbols,  Urim  and  Thummim,  prophetic 
ecstacy,  &c."+  Under  the  new  dispensation,  God  has  com- 
pleted the  whole  revelation  of  his  will  by  his  Son,  and  no 
new  revelation  is  to  be  expected  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

The  fourth  proposition  asserts,  that  this  revelation  has  been 
committed  to  writing.  Until  the  time  of  Moses,  or  for  a 
period  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  years,  no  part  of  the 
sacred  books  was  written.  God  then  communicated  his  will 
to  the  Church  by  immediate  revelation  ;  and  the  long  lives 
of  the  patriarchs  enabled  them  to  preserve  uncorrupted  what 
was  so  revealed,  and  to  transmit  it  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration. Two  persons  might  have  conveyed  it  down  from 
Adam  to  Abraham  ;  for  Methuselah  lived  above  three  hun- 
dred years  while  Adam  was  yet  alive,  and  Shem  lived  almost 
a  hundred  years  with  Methuselah,  and  above  a  hundred  years 
with  Abraham.  But  after  the  lives  of  men  were  shortened, 
and  revelation  was  greatly  enlarged,  it  pleased  God  that  the 
whole  of  his  revealed  will  should  be  committed  to  writing, 
that  the  Church  might  have  a  standing  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice, by  which  all  doctrines  might  be  examined,  and  all  ac- 
tions regulated, — that  sacred  truth  might  be  preserved  uncor- 
rupted and  entire, — that  it  might  be  propagated  throughout 
the  several  nations  of  the  earth,  and  might  be  conveyed 
down  to  all  succeeding  generations.  Though,  in  the  infancy 
of  the  Church,  God  taught  his  people  without  the  written 
Word,  yet  now  that  his  former  ways  of  revealing  his  will  to 
his  people  have  ceased,  the  Holy  Scripture,  or  written  Word, 
is  most  necessary.  Without  this  the  Church  would  be  left 
to  the  uncertainty  of  tradition  and  oral  teaching  ;  but  the 
written  Word  is  a  sure  test  of  doctrines,  and  a  light  in  a  dark 
place,  both  of  which  are  most  necessary. — Isa.  viii.  20;  2  Pet. 
i.  19. 

*  Owen  on  Hebrews,  i.  1. 

t  Stuart's  Commentary  on  the  Hebrews,  i.  1. 


SECT.  2,  3.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  7 

Section  II. — Under  the  name  of  Holy  Scripture,  or 
the  Word  of  God  written,  are  now  contained  all  the 
Books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  which  are 
these : — 


OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

Genesis. 

I.  Kings. 

Ecclesiastes. 

Amos. 

Exodus. 

II.  Kings. 

The     Song     of 

Obadiah. 

Leviticus. 

I.  Chronicles. 

Solomon. 

Jonah. 

Numbers. 

II.  Chronicles. 

Isaiah. 

Micah. 

Deuteronomy. 

Ezra. 

Jeremiah 

Nahum. 

Joshua. 

Nehemiah. 

Lamentations. 

Habakkuk. 

Judges. 
Ruth. 

Esther. 

Ezekiel. 

Zephaniah. 

Job. 

Daniel. 

Haggai. 

I.  Samuel. 

Psalms. 

Hosea. 

Zechariah.^ 

II.  Samuel. 

Proverbs. 

Joel. 

Malachi. 

OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Matthew. 

I.  Corinthians. 

I  Timothy. 

I.  Peter. 

Mark. 

II.  Corinthians. 

II.  Timothy. 

II.  Peter. 

Luke. 

Galatians. 

Titus. 

I.  John. 

John. 

Ephesians. 
Philippians. 

Philemon. 

II.  John. 

Acts     of     the 

Epistle  to  the 

III.  John. 

Apostles. 

Colossians. 

Hebrews. 

Jude. 

Epistle  to   the 

I.  Thessalonians. 

Epistle      of 

Book    of    the 

Romans. 

II.  Thessalonians. 

James. 

Revelation. 

All  which  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  to  be  the 
rule  of  faith  and  life.7 

Section  III. — The  Books  commonly  called  Apo- 
crypha, not  being  of  divine  inspiration,  are  no  part  of 
the  canon  of  the  Scripture  ;  and,  therefore,  are  of  no 
authority  in  the  Church  of  God,  nor  to  be  any  other- 
wise approved  or  made  use  of,  than  other  human 
writings.8 


»  Luke  xvi.  29,  31.     Eph.  ii.   20. 
Rev.  xxii.  18,  19.   2  Tim.  iii.  16. 


•  Luke  xxiv.  27,  44.    Rom.  iii.  2. 
2  Pet.  i.  21. 


EXPOSITION. 

•These  sections  relate  to  the  true  canon,  and  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  opposition  to  the  Romish 
Church,  which  reckons  the  apocryphal  hooks  of  equal  autho- 
rity with  the  Scriptures,  it  is  asserted  that  these  books  are 
no  part  of  the  canon  of  the  Scripture  ;  and  in  opposition  to 
the  Deists,  who  deny  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 


8  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  QcHAP.  I. 

Testaments  are  the  "Word  of  God,  it  is  affirmed  that  all  the 
sacred  books  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God. 

The  term  Scriptures  signifies  writings  in  general,  but  is  ap- 
propriated to  the  Word  of  God,  which  is  also,  by  way  of  emi- 
nency,  called  the  Bible,  or  book,  because  it  is  incomparably 
the  best  of  all  books.  The  sacred  books  are  divided  into 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament.  The  former 
includes  those  books  which  were  written  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation of  the  covenant  of  grace,  or  prior  to  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God;  the  latter  includes  those  books 
which  were  written  after  the  commencement  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation, or  posterior  to  the  advent  of  Christ.  The  Apostle 
Paul  lays  a  foundation  for  this  distinction  ;  for  he  uses  the 
phrases  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament,  and  in  one  in- 
stance designates  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets 
by  the  former  title. — 2.  Cor.  iii.  14.  The  word  canon  lite- 
rally signifies  a  rule,  and  was  early  used  to  designate  the  In- 
spired Scriptures,  which  form  a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and 
life. 

The  Sacred  Scriptures  are  now  collected  into  one  volume, 
but  that  volume  contains  a  considerable  number  of  separate 
books,  written  by  different  persons,  and  in  different  ages. 
How,  then,  do  we  ascertain  the  authenticity  and  genuine- 
ness of  each  of  these  books,  and  why  do  we  receive  them 
as  canonical,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others  %  In  determin- 
ing a  question  of  this  kind,  we  must  employ  the  same  me- 
thod which  we  follow  when  the  genuineness  of  any  other 
book  is  the  subject  of  investigation.  How  do  we  know  that 
the  books  which  bear  the  names  of  Homer,  Horace,  Tacitus, 
and  Livy  were  really  composed  by  them,  but  by  the  uni- 
form testimony  of  all  succeeding  ages  ?  In  the  same  way 
do  we  ascertain  that  the  writings  of  the  Apostles  and  Evan- 
gelists are  genuine  ;  we  have  the  testimony  of  their  contem- 
poraries and  immediate  successors,  who  are  the  most  com- 
petent witnesses  in  this  case.  The  task  of  searching  the 
records  of  antiquity  has  been  undertaken  by  learned  men, 
and  executed  with  great  industry  and  zeal.  The  result  of 
their  inquiries  is,  that  the  books  now  included  in  the  New 
Testament  were  received  as  inspired  by  the  primitive 
Church,  and  numerous  passages  were  quoted  from  them  by 
the  earliest  Christian  writers ;  that  catalogues  of  these  books, 
which  coincide  with  ours,  are  inserted  in  the  works  of  dif- 
ferent authors  who  flourished  in  the  third  and  fourth  cen- 
turies ;  and  that  these  books  were  publicly  read  in  Chris- 
tian congregations,  and  were  continually  appealed  to  by 
Christian  writers,  as  the  standard  of  faith,  and  the  supreme 


SECT.  2,  3.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  9 

judge  of  controversies.  The  canon  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  ascertained  by  a  short  process, — we  know  that  the  Jews 
arraDged  their  sacred  books  into  three  classes,  the  Law,  the 
Prophets,  and  the  Hagiography,  or  holy  writings.  Now,  our 
Lord,  just  before  his  ascension,  thus  addressed  his  dis- 
ciples,— "  These  are  the  words  which  I  spake  unto  you,  while 
I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled  which 
were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in 
the  psalms  concerning  me." — Luke  xxiv.  44.  The  Psalms 
are  here  put  for  the  Hagiography,  probably  because  they 
were  the  principal  book,  or  occupied  the  first  place  in  that 
division.  Our  Lord,  by  adopting  this  common  division  of 
the  sacred  books,  which  comprehended  all  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  ratified  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  it 
was  received  by  the  Jews.  This,  however,  does  not  deter- 
mine what  particular  books  were  then  included  in  the  Sacred 
Volume  ;  but  on  this  point  we  have  the  testimony  of  the 
Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  who  indeed  does  not  name  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  he  numbers  them,  and  so 
describes  them  that  there  is  scarcely  room  for  any  mistake. 
His  testimony  is  corroborated  by  that  of  several  of  the  early 
Christian  fathers,  who  have  furnished  us  with  catalogues  of 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  from  which  it  appears,  that 
the  canon  then  existing  was  the  same  as  that  which  we 
now  possess.  Besides,  a  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, known  by  the  name  of  The  Septuagint,  was  made  two 
hundred  and  seventy  years  before  the  Christian  era,  in 
which  are  the  same  books  that  are  at  present  found  in  the 
Hebrew  copies. 

The  books  commonly  called  Apocrypha,  were  never  ad- 
mitted into  the  list  of  canonical  books,  until  the  Council  of 
Trent,  at  its  fourth  session,  1546,  placed  them  in  the  same 
rank  with  the  inspired  writings.  They  are  rejected  by  the 
Protestant  Churches  for  the  following  reasons  : — The  Jews, 
to  whom  the  oracles  of  God  were  committed,  and  who  were 
never  blamed  for  unfaithfulness  to  their  trust,  never  ac- 
knowledged these  books  to  be  of  divine  authority.  They 
were  not  written  in  the  Hebrew,  but  in  the  Greek  language, 
and  the  authors  of  them  were  posterior  to  Malachi,  in  whom, 
according  to  the  universal  testimony  of  the  Jews,  the  spirit 
of  prophecy  ceased.  No  part  of  these  books  is  quoted  by 
Christ  or  his  apostles,  nor  a  single  word  found  in  all  the  New 
Testament  from  which  it  can  be  inferred  that  such  books 
were  in  existence.  These  books  contain  many  things  erro- 
neous, superstitious,  and  immoral ;  and  some  of  the  writers, 
instead  of  advancing  a  claim  to  inspiration,  acknowledge 


10  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fCHAP.  I. 

their  own  weakness,  and  apologise  for  their  defects.  The 
Church  of  England,  though  she  does  not  receive  the  apocry- 
phal hooks  as  canonical  Scripture,  and  therefore  does  not 
"  apply  them  to  establish  any  doctrine,"  yet  she  directs  cer- 
tain portions  of  them  to  be  read  in  the  church,  "  for  example 
of  life,  and  instruction  of  manners."  Now,  as  these  por- 
tions are  read  promiscuously  with  the  lessons  taken  from 
the  canonical  books,  and  no  notice  is  given  to  the  people 
that  they  are  selected  from  the  Apocrypha,  they  are  in 
reality  undistinguished  from  the  inspired  writings  ;  and  how- 
ever good  and  instructive  these  apocryphal  lessons  may  be, 
it  never  can  be  justified  that  they  should  thus  be  put  on  a 
level  with  the  Word  of  God. 

The  Holy  Scripture  is  called  the  Word  of  God,  because  it 
is  given  by  inspiration  of  God.  "  The  possibility  of  inspira- 
tion seems  to  be  granted  by  all  who  profess  to  be  Christians, 
though  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  with  respect  to 
its  nature  and  degrees,  as  applied  to  the  Scriptures.  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  amounted 
to  nothing  more  than  a  mere  superintendence  over  the  minds 
of  the  sacred  writers,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  publishing 
gross  errors.  Others  go  a  little  further,  and  maintain  that, 
besides  superintendence,  the  understandings  of  the  several 
writers  were  enlarged, — that  their  conceptions  were  elevated 
above  the  measure  of  ordinary  men, — and  that  with  their 
minds  thus  elevated,  tbey  were  left  to  their  own  judgment 
both  as  to  matter  and  words.  The  advocates  of  plenary  in- 
spiration, again,  maintain  that  the  Holy  Spirit  suggested  to 
the  minds  of  the  persons  inspired  not  only  the  matter  to  be 
communicated,  but  also  the  words  in  which  the  communi- 
cation was  to  be  made.  A  fourth  party  are  for  taking  in  all 
these  supposed  kinds  of  inspiration  now  mentioned ;  and 
they  maintain  that  the  sacred  writers  sometimes  wrote  un- 
der mere  superintendence,  sometimes  under  superintendence 
accompanied  with  a  high  elevation  of  conception,  and  at 
other  times  under  a  divine  suggestion,  or  what  is  called 
plenary  inspiration,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  subject 
on  which  they  wrote."  * 

At  no  remote  period,  the  plenary  and  verbal  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures  was  very  generally  abandoned.  Events, 
however,  have  occurred  of  late  years,  which  have  occasioned 
a  more  thorough  investigation  of  the  subject ;  and  the  most 
eminent  writers  who  have  treated  of  it  more  lately,  maintain 
the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  sacred  books  in  opposition  to 
those  who  hold  that  it  was  merely  partial  and  occasional, 
*  Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  p.  50-51. 


SECT.  2,  3.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  1 1 

and  their  verbal  inspiration,  in  opposition  to  those  who  hold 
that  only  the  sentiments  or  matter,  and  not  the  words,  are 
inspired.  "  We  are  humbly  of  opinion,"  says  Dr  Stevenson, 
"  that  inspiration,  as  employed  in  communicating  the  sacred 
oracles  to  men,  is  only  of  one  kind,  and  that  this  is  the  inspira- 
tion of  suggestion,  according  to  which  not  only  the  matter, 
but  the  words  also,  were  communicated  to  the  minds  of  the 
sacred  writers.  1.  The  Scriptures  themselves  take  notice 
of  only  one  kind  of  inspiration,  and  represent  it  as  extending 
to  all  the  parts  of  Scripture, — to  those  which  are  historical 
and  moral,  as  well  as  to  those  which  are  prophetical  and 
doctrinal.— 2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17  ;  2  Pet.  i.  21.  2.  There  must 
have  been  more  than  an  enlargement  of  the  understand- 
ing, and  an  elevation  of  conception  in  inspiration,  since  a 
great  many  of  the  things  were  such  as  could  not  have 
entered  into  the  hearts  of  men  or  of  angels,  had  they  not 
been  suggested  to  the  mind  by  the  Divine  Spirit.  Of  this 
description  were  the  events  foretold  by  the  sacred  writers 
many  years  before  they  took  place,  and  the  whole  of  the  doc- 
trines that  relate  to  the  supernatural  plan  of  man's  redemp- 
tion.— 1  Cor.  ii.  9,  10.  3.  For  similar  reasons  we  must  insist 
for  the  suggestion  not  only  of  the  ideas,  but  also  of  the  words 
of  Scripture.  To  us  it  is  altogether  inconceivable  how  the 
sacred  writers,  who,  like  other  men,  were  accustomed  to  think 
in  words,  could  have  the  ideas  suggested  to  their  own  minds, 
except  in  words  ;  or  how  they  could  have  written  intelligibly 
about  future  events,  with  which  they  could  have  had  no  pre- 
vious acquaintance,  and  on  doctrinal  subjects,  far  above 
their  comprehension,  had  not  the  language,  as  well  as  the 
matter,  been  furnished  to  them  by  Divine  suggestion. — 1  Cor. 
ii.  13.  4.  If  what  has  been  called  the  inspiration  of  superin- 
tendence and  elevation,  could  in  any  case  be  deemed  to  have 
been  sufficient,  it  must  have  been  in  cases  where  the  sacred 
writers  may  be  supposed  to  have  had  a  prior  acquaintance, 
from  other  sources,  with  the  subjects  on  which  they  were 
called  to  write ;  such  as  subjects  of  morality  and  history. 
But  even  in  these  cases,  plenary  inspiration  seems  to  have 
been  absolutely  necessary.  With  regard  to  moral  subjects, 
it  may  be  observed,  that  although  the  remains  of  the  law  of 
nature  furnish  man  with  certain  moral  sentiments,  yet,  in 
his  fallen  state,  his  views  of  right  and  wrong  are  so  dark  and 
confused,  that  there  is  not,  perhaps,  any  case  in  which  plenary 
inspiration  was  more  necessary  than  this,  in  order  that  man 
might  be  furnished  with  a  perfect  rule  of  duty.  With  re- 
spect to  history,  where  the  facts  recorded  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  known  by  the  sacred  writers  from  their  own 


1 2  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £  CHAP.  £ 

observation,  or  from  other  authentic  sources,  it  may  be  ob- 
served, in  general,  that  sacred  history  differs,  in  the  main 
ends  proposed  by  it,  from  profane  history."  While  profane 
history  has  for  its  object  only  the  civil  and  political  benefit 
of  individuals  and  nations,  the  inspired  historians  propose  a 
much  higher  aim, — the  advancement  of  salvation  in  subser- 
viency to  the  glory  of  God  in  Christ, — an  aim  which  requires 
a  manner  of  thinking  and  writing  peculiar  to  itself.  "  Neither 
does  the  variety  of  style  found  throughout  the  Scriptures 
form,  in  our  apprehension,  any  valid  objection  to  the  doctrine 
of  plenary  inspiration.  Though  the  inspired  penmen  were 
under  infallible  direction,  both  in  regard  to  the  sentiments 
to  be  communicated  by  them,  and  the  phraseology  best 
adapted  to  express  these  sentiments  ;  yet  the  Holy  Spirit, 
for  wise  reasons,  seems  to  have  accommodated  his  sugges- 
tions, so  far  as  relates  to  mere  style,  to  the  age  in  which 
they  wrote,  and  their  respective  talents  for  composition. 
5.  "We  observe  further,  in  support  of  plenary  inspiration, 
that  unless  it  be  admitted  the  Bible  has  no  valid  claim  to 
be  called  the  Word  of  God.  The  Scriptures  frequently  lay 
claim  to  a  divine  origin  in  support  of  their  supreme  autho- 
rity as  a  rule  of  faith  and  manners  ;  but  if  the  sacred  writers 
were  only  under  what  is  called  superintendence,  we  cannot 
see  the  justness  of  that  claim.  It  would  be  a  gross  perversion 
of  words,  to  call  a  man  the  author  of  a  book,  who  had  no 
hand  in  its  composition  further  than  merely  guarding  its  real 
author  from  falling  into  gross  error.  The  designation,  the 
Word  of  God,  must  suggest  to  every  unprejudiced  mind,  that 
the  Bible  is  from  God,  both  in  respect  of  sentiment  and  ex- 
pression. Nor  does  it  render  the  matter  any  better  to  tell 
us,  that  though  some  parts  of  the  Bible  were  written  under 
the  mere  superintendence  of  the  Spirit,  yet  others  were 
written  by  the  inspiration  of  suggestion ;  for  this  throws  a 
suspicion  over  the  whole,  since  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  de- 
termine what  parts  were  dictated  by  plenary  inspiration,  and 
what  parts  were  not.  The  safe  way  is  to  hold  by  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible  itself,  that  inspiration  is  one  in  kind  ;  that 
it  is  not  a  partial,  but  a  full  or  plenary  inspiration  ;  and  that 
this  applies  to  the  whole  of  the  sacred  volume.  *  All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God.' "  * 

Section  IV. — The  authority  of  the  Holy  Scripture, 
for  which  it  ought  to  be  believed  and  obeyed,  dependeth 
not  upon  the  testimony  of  any  man  or  Church,  but 

*  Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  pp.  51-57.  See  also  the  admirable 
work  of  Professor  Gaussen,  on  "  The  Plenary  Inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures," which  mu6t  set  this  question  at  rest. 


SECT.  4,  5.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  13 

wholly  upon  God  (who  is  truth,  itself),  the  author 
thereof;  and,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  received,  because  it  is 
the  Word  of  God.9 

Section  V. — We  may  be  moved  and  induced  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Church  to  an  high  and  reverend  esteem  of 
the  Holy  Scripture,10  and  the  heavenliness  of  the  matter, 
the  efficacy  of  the  doctrine,  the  majesty  of  the  style, 
the  consent  of  all  the  parts,  the  scope  of  the  whole, 
(which  is  to  give  all  glory  to  God,)  the  full  discovery  it 
makes  of  the  only  way  of  man's  salvation,  the  many 
other  incomparable  excellencies,  and  the  entire  perfection 
thereof,  are  arguments  whereby  it  doth  abundantly  evi- 
dence itself  to  be  the  Word  of  God;  yet,  notwithstanding 
our  full  persuasion  and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth, 
and  Divine  authority  thereof,  is  from  the  inward  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  witness  by  and  with  the  Word 
in  our  hearts.11 

»  2  Pet.  i.  19,21.     2  Tim.  in.  16.  I      ll  1  John  ii.  20,  27.    John  xvi.  13, 
1  John  v.  9.     1  Thess.  ii.  13.  14.    1  Cor.  ii.   10-12.     Isa.  lix. 

™  1  Tim.  iii.  15.  |  21. 

EXPOSITION. 

These  sections  teach  us,  that  the  authority  of  the  Scripture 
depends  not  upon  any  man  or  Church,  but  wholly  upon  God, 
the  author  thereof,  and  then  points  out  the  evidences  that 
the  Scripture  is  the  Word  of  God.  The  first  of  these  heads 
is  stated  in  opposition  to  the  Papists,  who  maintain  that  the 
authority  of  the  Scriptures  is  derived  from  the  Church.  The 
absurdity  of  this  idea  is  easily  evinced.  The  true  Church 
of  Christ  is  founded  on  the  Scriptures,  and  therefore  the 
authority  of  the  Scriptures  cannot  depend  on  the  Church. — 
Eph.  ii.  20. 

That  the  Holy  Scripture  is  the  Word  of  God,  is  proved  both 
by  external  and  internal  evidences.  1 .  The  external  evidences  are 
such  as  these  : — The  character  of  the  sacred  penmen — the 
miracles  wrought  by  them,  for  the  decla-red  purpose  of  at- 
testing their  divine  mission  and  inspiration — the  exact  ac- 
complishment of  numerous  prophecies  recorded  in  Scripture 
— the  antiquity  of  the  Scriptures,  taken  in  connection  with 
their  wonderful  preservation  to  this  day — the  effects  pro- 
duced by  the  Scriptures,  effects  which  could  never  have 
been  accomplished  by  the  lessons  of  philosophy,  nor  the  force 
of  human  laws — and  the  influence  which  the  Scriptures  have 


14  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  I. 

had  in  civilizing  the  most  harbarous  nations,  and  in  meliorat- 
ing the  condition  of  society  at  large,  wherever  the  knowledge 
of  them  has  been  disseminated.  2.  The  internal  evidences  are 
such  as  these  : — The  incomparable  sublimity  of  the  doctrines 
contained  in  the  Scriptures,  and  their  revealing  many  truths 
which  could  not  be  discovered  by  nature  or  reason — the  ex- 
tent and  purity  of  their  precepts — the  representation  which 
they  give  of  the  character  and  moral  administration  of  God 
— the  exact  adaptation  of  the  revelation  they  contain  to  the 
state  and  wants  of  man — the  entire  harmony  of  their  several 
parts,  though  written  by  different  persons,  and  in  different 
ages — the  majesty  of  their  style — and  the  scope  and  ten- 
dency of  the  whole  to  advance  the  glory  of  God,  and  secure 
the  salvation  of  men.  Such  arguments  as  these  may  pro- 
duce a  rational  conviction  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  Word 
of  God  ;  but  it  is  only  the  Holy  Spirit's  effectual  application 
of  them  to  the  heart,  in  their  self-evidencing  light  and  power, 
that  can  produce  a  cordial  and  saving  persuasion  of  it.  "  He 
that  belie veth  hath  the  witness  in  himself."  Though  many 
who  believe  are  not  qualified  to  demonstrate  the  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures  by  rational  arguments,  yet,  by  the  expe- 
rience they  have  of  their  power  and  efficacy  on  their  own 
hearts,  they  are  infallibly  assured  that  they  are  the  Word  of 
God  ;  and  they  can  no  more  be  convinced,  by  the  reasonings 
and  objections  of  infidels,  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  produc- 
tion of  men,  than  they  can  be  persuaded  that  men  created 
the  sun,  whose  light  they  behold,  and  by  whose  beams  they 
are  cheered. 

Section  VI. — The  whole  counsel  of  God,  concerning 
all  things  necessary  for  his  own  glory,  man's  salvation, 
faith,  and  life,  is  either  expressly  set  down  in  Scrip  ture, 
or  by  good  and  necessary  consequence  may  be  deduced 
from  Scripture  :  unto  which  nothing  at  any  time  is  to 
be  added,  whether  by  new  revelations  of  the  Spirit,  or 
traditions  of  men. 12  Nevertheless,  we  acknowledge  the 
inward  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  be  necessary 
for  the  saving  understanding  of  such  things  as  are 
revealed  in  the  Word ; 13  and  that  there  are  some  circum- 
stances concerning  the  worship  of  God,  and  government 
of  the  Church,  common  to  human  actions  and  societies, 

12  2  Tim.  iii.   15-17.    Gal.  i.  8,  9.  I      13  John  vi.  45.    1  Cor.  ii.  9-12. 
2  Thess.  ii.  2. 


SECT.  6,  7.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  15 

which  are  to  be  ordered  by  the  light  of  nature  and 
Christian  prudence,  according  to  the  general  rules  of 
the  Word,  which  are  always  to  be  observed.14 

Section  VII. — All  things  in  Scripture  are  not  alike 
plain  in  themselves,  nor  alike  clear  unto  all ; 15  yet  those 
things  which  are  necessary  to  be  known,  believed,  and 
observed,  for  salvation,  are  so  clearly  propounded  and 
opened  in  some  place  of  Scripture  or  other,  that  not  only 
the  learned,  but  the  unlearned,  in  a  due  use  of  the 
ordinary  means,  may  attain  unto  a  sufficient  understand- 
ing of  them16. 

14  1  Cor.  xi.  13,  14.     1  Cor.  xiv.  26,  I      15  2  Pet.  iii.  16. 

40.  I      16  Ps.  cxix.  105,  130. 

EXPOSITION. 

These  sections  relate  to  the  perfection  and  perspicuity  of 
the  Scriptures. 

1.  In  regard  to  the  perfection,  or  sufficiency,  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, it  is  acknowledged  that  there  are  some  circumstances 
concerning  the  worship  of  God,  and  government  of  the  Church, 
in  regard  to  which  no  express  injunctions  are  given  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  which  are  to  be  ordered  by  the  light  of  nature  and 
Christian  prudence,  according  to  the  general  rules  of  the 
Word.  The  Apostolic  rule  in  such  cases  is, — "  Let  all  things 
be  done  decently  and  in  order," — 1  Cor.  xiv.  40 ;  but  this 
general  rule  does  not  authorise  the  introduction  into  the 
Church  of  rites  and  ceremonies  of  human  invention,  in  order 
to  set  off  the  worship  of  God.  This  cannot  be  justified  by 
any  plea  of  expediency,  with  a  view  of  rendering  the  services 
of  the  Church  more  attractive,  and  conciliating  those  that 
are  withowt.  "  And  it  may  be  here  remarked,  that  it  was 
one  of  the  first  and  greatest  mistakes  into  which  the  Church 
fell,  after  inspiration  ceased,  to  make  too  free  a  use  of  this 
doctrine  of  expediency.  The  abuses  which  have  crept  in 
under  this,  specious  disguise  were  not  foreseen.  The  Fathers 
saw  no  harm  in  an  indifferent  ceremony,  to  which,  perhaps, 
their  new  converts  were  attached  from  long  custom.  By 
adopting  things  of  this  kind,  the  Church,  which  was  at  first 
simple,  and  unencumbered  with  rites,  became  strangely  meta- 
morphosed ;  and  in  place  of  her  simple  robe  of  white,  assumed 
a  gorgeous  dress,  tricked  off  with  gaudy  ornaments  and  va- 
rious colours.  And  this  practice  of  inventing  new  ceremonies 
went  on  increasing,  until,  in  process  of  time,  the  burdensome 
ritual  of  the  Levitical  law  was  not  comparable  to  the  liturgy 


16  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  []CHAP.  I. 

of  the  Christian  Church.  Who  that  now  attends  a  Romish 
chapel  on  some  'high  day,'  would  suppose  that  the  service 
performed  was  connected  with  the  religion  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament ?"  * 

In  maintaining  the  perfection  of  the  Scriptures,  we  do  not 
insist  that  every  article  of  religion  is  contained  in  Scripture 
in  so  many  words  ;  but  we  hold  that  conclusions  fairly  de- 
duced from  the  declarations  of  the  Word  of  God  are  as  truly 
parts  of  divine  revelation  as  if  they  were  expressly  taught  in 
the  Sacred  Volume.  That  good  and  necessary  consequences 
deduced  from  Scripture  are  to  be  received  as  part  of  the 
rule  of  our  faith  and  practice,  is  evident  from  the  example 
of  our  Saviour  in  proving  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
against  the  Sadducees, — Matt.  xxii.  31,  32  ;  and  from  the 
example  of  Paul,  who  proved  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the 
Christ,  by  reasoning  with  the  Jews  out  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures. — Acts  xvii.  2,  3.  "  All  Scripture  "  is  declared  to 
be  "profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness  ;"  but  all  these  ends  cannot  be 
obtained,  unless  by  the  deduction  of  consequences.  Legiti- 
mate consequences,  indeed,  only  bring  out  the  full  meaning 
of  the  words  of  Scripture ;  and  as  we  are  endued  with  the 
faculty  of  reason,  and  commanded  to  search  the  Scriptures, 
it  was  manifestly  intended  that  we  should  draw  conclusions 
from  what  is  therein  set  down  in  express  words. 

By  the  perfection  of  Scripture,  then,  we  mean,  that  the 
Scripture,  including  necessary  consequences  as  well  as  the 
express  words,  contains  a  complete  revelation  of  the  will  of 
God,  concerning  all  things  necessary  for  his  own  glory,  man's 
salvation,  faith,  and  life.  The  Scripture  is  represented  as 
perfect,  fitted  to  answer  every  necessary  end, — Ps.  xix.  8,  9  ; 
it  is  sufficient  to  make  "  the  man  of  God  perfect,"  and  able 
to  make  private  Christians  "wise  unto  salvation,  through 
faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." — 2  Tim.  iii.  15-17.  So  com- 
plete is  the  Scripture,  that  its  Author  has  peremptorily  pro- 
hibited either  to  add  to,  or  to  diminish  ought  from  it. — Deut. 
iv.  2 ;  Rev.  xxii.  18,  19. 

The  perfection  of  the  Scriptures  is  to  be  maintained  in 
opposition  to  those  enthusiasts  who  pretend  to  new  revela- 
tions of  the  Spirit,  and  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  "receives  traditions  with  the  same  veneration  that 
they  do  the  Scriptures."  No  new  revelations  are  to  be  added 
to  the  oracles  of  God,  for  Christ  and  his  apostles  have 
foretold  the  rise  of  false  prophets,  and  warned  us  not  to 
g'ive  Heed  to  their  pretended  revelations. — Matt.  xxiv.  11, 
*  Alexander  on  the  Canon  of  the  Scriptures. 


SECT.  6,  7.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  17 

24.  The  Apostle  Paul  denounces  a  curse  upon  all  who  preach 
any  other  gospel  than  that  which  is  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures.— Gal.  i.  8,  9.  The  uncertainty  of  private  revelations 
furnishes  another  argument  against  them.  Such  is  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  the  heart,  that  men  are  apt  to  mistake  their 
own  fancies  and  imaginations  for  revelations  of  the  Spirit, 
and  such  is  the  subtlety  of  Satan,  that  he  sometimes  trans- 
forms himself  into  an  angel  of  light.  Private  revelations, 
therefore,  must  be  very  uncertain  to  ourselves,  and  much 
more  so  to  others.  And  it  may  be  observed,  that  none  plead 
for  the  authority  of  private  revelations  but  such  as,  by  the 
contrariety  of  their  opinions  and  practices  to  the  Scriptures, 
manifest  themselves  to  be  led  by  a  spirit  of  delusion. 

Neither  are  the  traditions  of  men  to  be  added  to  the  Word 
of  God.  Traditions  have  been  a  fertile  source  of  corruption 
in  religion,  both  among  Jews  and  Christians.  The  Jews 
pretended  that  besides  what  Moses  committed  to  writing,  he 
received  from  God  a  variety  of  revelations,  which  he  com- 
municated verbally  to  Aaron,  and  which  were  orally  trans- 
mitted from  generation  to  generation.  These  traditions  mul- 
tiplied exceedingly,  especially  after  the  Spirit  of  prophecy 
was  withdrawn  from  the  Church ;  and  when  Christ  appeared 
on  earth,  he  found  the  Jews  so  far  degenerated,  that  their 
religion  consisted  almost  entirely  in  the  observation  of  such 
traditions.  Hence  we  find  him  declaring,  "  Ye  have  made 
the  commandment  of  God  of  none  effect  by  your  tradition." 
"  In  vain  they  do  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the 
commandments  of  men." — Matt.  xv.  6,  9.  In  the  same  way 
have  a  multitude  of  the  corruptions  in  the  doctrine  and  wor- 
ship of  the  Romish  Church  sprung  up.  They,  after  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Jews,  pretend  that  Christ  and  his  apostles  de- 
livered many  things  which  are  not  found  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  which  have  come  down  to  us  by  tradition.  But  how 
can  it  be  shown  that  those  articles  of  religion,  or  institutions 
of  worship,  which  they  say  have  come  down  by  tradition, 
were  really  received  from  the  mouth  of  Christ,  or  from  the 
teaching  of  his  apostles  ?  Or,  supposing  that  they  were  de- 
rived from  this  source,  how  can  it  be  ascertained  that  they 
have  been  conveyed  down  to  us  without  alteration  or  corrup- 
tion ?  The  fact  is,  many  of  these  traditions,  which  are  called 
apostolical,  can  be  traced  to  their  commencement,  at  a  period 
much  later  than  that  of  the  apostles.  To  admit  unwritten 
traditions  would  open  a  door  for  all  the  innovations  and  cor- 
ruptions which  the  fancies  of  men  may  devise,  and  would 
make  void  the  law  of  God.  But  as  our  Lord  strongly  con- 
B 


1 8  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  I. 

demned  the  Jewish  traditions,  so  we  justly  reject  the  mass  of 
traditions  received  by  the  Romish  Church. 

2.  The  Scriptures  are  clear  and  perspicuous  in  all  things 
necessary  to  salvation.  We  allow  that  there  are  doctrines 
revealed  in  the  Scriptures  which  surpass  the  comprehension 
of  created  beings,  such  as,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the 
eternal  generation  and  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God. 
These  are  mysteries  which  we  cannot  comprehend,  but  the 
doctrines  themselves  are  plainly  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  we  must  receive  them  on  the  divine  testimony.  We  also 
admit  that  in  the  Scriptures  there  are  some  things  obscure 
and  "  hard  to  be  understood."  But  this  obscurity  is  chiefly 
in  history  and  prophecies,  which  do  not  so  nearly  concern 
our  salvation.  As  in  nature  everything  necessary  for  the 
support  of  life  occurs  almost  everywhere,  and  may  be  found 
on  the  most  easy  search,  while  other  things  less  necessary, 
such  as  its  gems  and  gold,  lie  concealed  in  certain  places, 
and  can  only  be  discovered  and  obtained  by  great  exertions 
and  unwearied  industry  ;  so  there  are  things  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, ignorance  of  which  will  not  endanger  the  salvation  of 
the  soul,  that  are  abstruse  and  difficult  to  be  understood, 
even  by  those  who  possess  acute  minds  and  great  learning. 
But  we  maintain,  that  all  those  things  which  are  necessary ' 
to  be  known,  believed,  and  observed,  for  salvation,  are  so 
clearly  revealed  in  some  place  of  Scripture  or  other,  that 
every  serious  inquirer,  in  the  due  use  of  ordinary  means, 
may  understand  them.  This  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  their  author  is  God.  If  he  intended  them  to  be  a  rule 
of  faith  and  life  to  men,  surely  he  has  adapted  them  to  the 
understandings  of  men.  There  are  numerous  injunctions  to 
read  and  search  the  Scriptures,  but  these  necessarily  imply 
that  they  are  perspicuous  and  intelligible.  Christians  are  also 
commended  for  searching  the  Scriptures,  and  trying  by  the 

written  Word  the  doctrines  delivered  to  them Acts  xvii. 

11.  If  the  Scriptures  were  unintelligible  to  common  Chris- 
tians, and  the  interpretation  of  the  Church  were  necessary  to 
discover  their  meaning,  then  such  Christians  would  have  no 
foundation.upon  which  a  divine  faith  could  rest.  Their  faith 
must  be  ultimately  resolved  into  the  testimony  of  men;  but 
human  testimony,  being  fallible,  cannot  be  the  ground  of  an 
infallible  persuasion. 

Notwithstanding  the  subjective  perspicuity  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, we  acknowledge  the  inward  illumination  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  to  be  necessary  for  the  saving  understanding  of  such 
things  as  are  revealed  in  them.  This  arises  from  the  blindness 
and  perversity  of  the  human  understanding,  as  now  corrupted 


SECT.  8-10.]  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.  19 

and  depraved. — 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  If  the  enlightening  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  unnecessary,  then  the  greatest- adepts 
in  human  literature  would  be  best  accpaainted  with  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  this,  however,  is  not  the  case. — Matt.  xi.  25.  In  the 
promises  of  God,  and  in  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  the  special 
illumination  of  the  Spirit  is  represented  as  necessary  to  enable 
us  savingly  to  understand  the  things  of  God. — John  xiv.  26 ; 
Ps.  cxix.  18,  &c. 

Section  VIII. — The  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew 
(which  was  the  native  language  of  the  people  of  God  of 
old),  and  the  New  Testament  in  Greek  (which  at  the 
time  of  the  writing  of  it  was  most  generally  known  to 
the  nations),  being  immediately  inspired  by  God,  and  by 
his  singular  care  and  providence  kept  pure  in  all  ages,  are 
therefore  authentical; 17  so  as  in  all  controversies  of  reli- 
gion the  Church  is  finally  to  appeal  unto  them. 18  But 
because  these  original  tongues  are  not  known  to  all  the 
people  of  God,  who  have  right  unto  and  interest  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  are  commanded,  in  the  fear  God,  to  read 
and  search  them,19  therefore  they  are  to  be  translated 
into  the  vulgar  language  of  every  nation  unto  which 
they  come,20  that  the  Word  of.  God  dwelling  plentifully 
in  all,  they  may  worship  him  in  an  acceptable  manner,21 
and,  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures, 
may  have  hope.22 

Section  IX. — The  infallible  rule  of  interpretation  of 
Scripture  is  the  Scripture  itself;  and  therefore,  when  there 
is  a  question  about  the  true  and  full  sense  of  any  Scripture 
(which  is  not  manifold,  but  one),  it  must  be  searched 
and  known  by  other  places  that  speak  more  clearly.23 

Section  X. — The  Supreme  Judge,  by  which  all  con- 
troversies of  religion  are  to' be  determined,  and  all 
decrees  of  councils,  opinions  of  ancient  writers,  doctrines 
of  men,  and  private' spirits,  are  to  be  examined,  and  in 
whose  sentence  we  are  to  rest,  can  be  no  other  but  the 
Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  the  Scripture.24 

17  Matt.  v.  18.  I  2i  Col.  iii.  16. 

18  Isa.  viii.  20.     Acts  xv.  15.      John  |  —   Rom.  xv.  4. 

v.  39,  46.  2a  2  Pet.  i.  20,  21.     Acts.  xv.  15,  16. 

19  John  v.  39.  24  Matt.  xxij.  29,  31.  Eph.  ii.  20. 
2<>  1  Cor.  xiv.  6,  9,  11,  12,  24,  27,  28.  Acts,  xxviii.  25. 


20  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  ^CHAP.  I' 


EXPOSITION. 

There  are  four  heads  embraced  in  these  sections.  First, 
That  the  Scriptures,  in  the  original  languages,  have  come 
down  to  us  uncorrupted,  and  are,  therefore,  authentical. 
Secondly,  That  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  translated  into  the  vul- 
gar language  of  every  nation  unto  which  they  come.  Thirdly, 
That  the  infallible  rule  of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  is 
the  Scripture  itself.  Fourthly,  That  the  Scriptures  are  the 
supreme  standard  of  religious  truth;  and  that  the  Supreme 
Judge,  by  which  all  controversies  in  religion  are  to  be  deter- 
mined, is  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  to  us  in  the  Scriptures. 

1.  The  Old  Testament,  except  a  few  passages  which  were 
written  in  Chaldee,  was  originally  written  in  Hebrew,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Jews,  to  whom  the  prophetical  oracles  were 
committed.  The  passages  which  were  written  in  Chaldee, 
are  the  eleventh  verse  of  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Prophecies 
of  Jeremiah  ;  from  the  second  verse  of  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Daniel,  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  chapter  ;  and  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth  chapters  of  Ezra.  The  New  Testament  was 
originally  written  in  Greek,  the  language  which,  at  the  time 
of  writing  it,  was  most  universally  known.  The  original 
language  of  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  is  indeed  a 
subject  of  controversy.  The  ancients,  with  one  voice,  affirm 
that  it  was  written  in  Hebrew,  and  this  opinion  is  supported 
by  many  modern  critics  ;  others,  equally  learned,  maintain 
that  it  was  originally  composed  in  Greek.  Several  of  the 
latest  writers  on  this  subject  have  adopted  the  opinion  that 
there  were  two  originals,  Hebrew  and  Greek,  both  written 
by  Matthew  himself, — the  one  for  the  use  of  the  Jews,  the 
other  for  the  use  of  the  Gentiles.  Though  the  autographs  of 
the  inspired  writings  have  long  since  disappeared,  yet  there 
is  ample  evidence  that,  by  the  singular  care  and  providence 
of  God,  they  have  been  preserved  pure  in  all  ages,  and  that 
the  copies  which  we  now  possess  generally  coincide  with  the 
originals.  The  "purity  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  is 
confirmed  by  the  general  coincidence  of  the  present  Hebrew 
copies  with  all  the  early  translations,  and  particularly  with 
the  Septuagint  version.  It  may  also  be  observed,  that 
although  our  Lord  frequently  reproved  the  rulers  and 
teachers  of  the  Jews  for  their  erroneous  and  false  doctrines, 
yet  he  never  accused  them  of  any  corruption  in  their  sacred 
books;  and  the  Apostle  Paul  reckons  it  among  the  privi- 
leges of  the  Jews,  that  to  them  "  were  committed  the  oracles 
of  God,"  without  ever  insinuating  that  they  had  been  un- 
faithful to  their  trust.    The  animosity  which  lias  ever  since 


sect.  8-10.]        The  holy  scripture.  21 

prevailed  betwixt  Jews  and  Christians  has  rendered  it  im- 
possible for  either  of  them  to  vitiate  these  sacred  writings 
without  immediate  detection.  The  corruption  of  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  is  altogether  incredible.  Had  any- 
party  entertained  a  wish  to  alter  them,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  them  to  succeed.  Copies  were  speedily  mul- 
tiplied ;  they  were  early  translated  into  the  different  lan- 
guages of  the  several  nations  among  which  the  gospel  was 
planted;  the  Christian  fathers  embodied  numerous  quota- 
tions from  them  into  their  writings  ;  various  sects  soon  arose, 
keenly  opposed  to  each  other,  but  all  receiving  the  same 
sacred  books,  and  these  became  a  check  upon  each  other, 
and  rendered  corruptions  and  interpolations  impracticable. 
Every  succeeding  age  increased  the  difficulty  ;  and  though 
the  comparison  of  a  multitude  of  ancient  manuscripts  and 
copies  has  discovered  a  vast  number  of  various  readings, 
occasioned  by  the  inadvertency  and  inaccuracy  of  tran- 
scribers, yet  none  of  these  differences  affect  any  one  article 
of  the  faith  and  comfort  of  Christians. 

2.  As  the  Scriptures  were  originally  written  in  the  lan- 
guages which,  at  the  time  of  writing  them,  were  most  gene- 
rally understood,  God  has  hereby  intimated  his  will,  that 
they  should  be  translated  into  the  vernacular  language  of 
different  nations,  that  every  one  may  read  and  understand 
them.  This  we  maintain  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of 
Rome,  which  forbids  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the 
vulgar  languages,  and  declares  the  indiscriminate  reading  of 
them  to  be  highly  dangerous.  Though  the  free  use  of  the 
Scriptures  be  prohibited  by  that  Church,  they  were  cer- 
tainly intended  by  God  for  all  ranks  and  classes  of  mankind. 
All  are  enjoined  to  read  the  Scriptures  (John  v.  39);  and  the 
laity  are  commended  not  only  for  searching  them,  but  for 
trying  the  doctrines  of  their  public  teachers  by  them. — Acts 
xvii.  11.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  the  Scriptures 
should  be  translated  into  the  language  of  every  nation;  and 
the  use  of  translations  is  sanctioned  by  the  apostles,  who  fre- 
quently quoted  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
Septuagint. 

3.  The  best  and  only  infallible  rule  of  interpretation  of 
Scripture,  is  the  Scripture  itself.  Some  things  that  are 
briefly  and  obscurely  handled  in  one  place,  are  more  fully 
and  clearly  explained  hi  other  pJ  .ces ;  and,  therefore,  when 
we  would  find  out  the  true  sense  of  Scripture,  we  must  com- 
pare one  passage  with  another,  that  they  may  illustrate  one 
another;  and  we  must  never  affix  a  sense  to  any  particular 
text,  but  such  as  is  agreeable  to  "  the  analogy  of  faith,"  or 


22  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  I. 

the  general  scheme  of  divine  truth.  The  compilers  of  the 
Confession  affirm,  that  the  sense  of  Scripture  is  not  manifold, 
but  one. .  No  doubt,  many  passages  of  Scripture  have  a  com- 
2?lcx  meaning, — as  some  prophecies  have  several  steps  of  ful- 
filment, in  the  Jewish  nation,  the  Christian  Church,  and  the 
heavenly  state,  and  some  passages  have  one  thing  that  is 
typical  of  another.  Yet  these  only  make  up  that  one  and  en- 
tire sense  intended  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  Scripture  can 
have  tAvo  or  more  meanings  properly  different,  and  nowise 
subordinate  one  to  another,  because  of  the  unity  of  truth,  and 
because  of  the  perspicuity  of  the  Scripture. 

4.  That  the  Scriptures  are  the  supreme  standard  of  reli- 
gious truth,  is  asserted  in  opposition  to  the  Socinians,  who 
maintain  that  reason  is  the  standard  by  which  we  are  to 
judge  of  the  doctrines  of  revelation,  and  that  we  are  bound 
to  receive  nothing  as  true  which  reason  does  not  comprehend. 
There  is,  no  doubt,  much  use  for  the  exercise  of  reason  in 
matters  of  religion;  but,  it  may  be  remarked,  "that  the 
office  of  reason,  in  reference  to  a  revelation,  is  not  to  discuss 
its  contents,  to  try  them  by  its  own  standard,  and  to  approve 
or  disapprove,  as  they  agree  or  disagree  with  it ;  for  this 
would  be  to  treat  it  as  if  it  were  not  a  revelation,  at  the 
moment  when  we  acknowledge  it  to  be  such ;  or  to  insinuate 
that  the  Word  of  God,  although  known  to  be  his  Word,  is 
not  entitled  to  credit,  unless  it  be  supported  by  independent 
proof.  The  sole  province  of  reason  is  to  examine  the  evi- 
dence exhibited  to  show  that  it  is  his  Word,  and  to  investi- 
gate its  meaning  by  rules  which  are  used  in  determining  the 
sense  of  any  other  book.  These  preliminaries  being  settled, 
the  state  of  mind  which  a  revelation  demands  is  faith,  im- 
plicit faith,  to  the  exclusion  of  doubts  and  objections  ;  the 
subjection  of  our  understanding  to  the  authority  of  God, — en- 
tire submission  to  the  dictates  of  infinite  wisdom.  The 
reason  is,  that  his  testimony  supplies  the  place  of  all  other 
evidence."  * 

That  the  Supreme  Judge,  by  which  all  controversies  in 
religion  are  to  be  determined,  is  no  other  but  the  Holy  Spirit 
speaking  in  the  Scripture,  is  asserted  in  opposition  to  the 
Papists,  who  maintain  that  the  Church  is  an  infallible  judge 
in  rehgious  controversies  ;  though  they  do  not  agree  among 
themselves  whether  this  infallible  authority  resides  in  the 
Pope,  or  in  a  council,  or  in  both  together.  Now,  the  Scrip- 
ture never  mentions  such  an  infallible  judge  on  earth.  Nei- 
ther Pope,  nor  councils,  possess  the  properties  requisite  to 
constitute  a  supreme  judge  in  controversies  of  religion ;  for 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  p.  5. 


SECT.  1 .]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY. 


23 


they  are  fallible,  and  have  often  erred,  and  contradicted  one 
another.  Although  the  Church  or  her  ministers  are  the 
official  guardians  of  the  Scriptures,  and  although  it  belongs 
to  them  to  explain  and  enforce  the  doctrines  and  laws  con- 
tained in  the  Word  of  God,  yet  their  authority  is  only  minis- 
terial, and  their  interpretations  and  decisions  are  binding  on 
the  conscience  only  in  so  far  as  they  accord  with  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  Scriptures.  By  this  test,  the  decisions 
of  councils,  the  opinions  of  ancient  writers,  and  the  doctrines 
of  men  at  the  present  time,  are  to  be  tried,  and  by  this 
rule  all  controversies  in  religion  must  be  determined. — Isa. 
viii.  20  j  Matt.  xxii.  29. 


CHAPTER  II. 


OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY. 


Section  I. — There  is  but  one  only1  living  and  true 
God,2  who  is  infinite  in  being  and  perfection,3  a  most 
pure  spirit,4  invisible,5  without  body,  parts,6  or  passions,4 
immutable,8  immense,9  eternal,10  incomprehensible,11 
almighty,12  most  wise,13  most  Holy,14  most  free,15  most 
absolute, 16  working  all  things  according  to  the  counsel 
of  his  own  immutable  and  most  righteous  will, 17  for  his 
own  glory;18  most  loving,19  gracious,  merciful,  long- 
suffering,  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  forgiving 
iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin;20  the  re  warder  of  them 
that  diligently  seek  him ; 21  and  withal  most  just  and 
terrible  in  his  judgments;22  hating  all  sin,23  and  who 
will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.24 


1  Deut.  vi.  4.    1  Cor.  viii.  4,  6. 

2  1  Thess.  i.  9.    Jer.  x.  10. 

3  Job  xi.  7-9 ;  xxvi.  14. 

4  John  iv.  24.  6  1  Tim.  i.  17. 

6  Deut.  iv.  15,16.  John  iv.  24.   Luke 

xxiv.  39. 

7  Acts  xiv.  11,  15. 

8  James  i.  17.     Mai.  Hi.  6. 

9  1  Kings  viii.  27.    Jer.  xxiii.  23,  24. 
10  Ps.  xc.  2.    1  Tim.  i.  17. 

"  Ps.  cxlv.  3. 


12  Gen.  xvii.  1.     Rev.  iv.  8. 

13  Rom.  xvi.  27. 

14  Isa.  vi.  3.     Rev.  iv.  8. 

15  Ps.  cxv.  3. 

16  Exod.  iii.  14. 
»'  Eph.  i.  11. 

is  Prov.  xvi.  4.     Rom.  xi.  36. 

19  1  John  iv.  8,  16. 

20  Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7.  21  Hen.  xi. 
2"  Neh.  ix.  32,  33.  23  Ps.  v.  5, 1 
2*  Nan.  i.  2,  3.     Exod.  xxxiv.  7. 


24  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

Section  II — God  hath  all  life,35  glory,36  goodness,27 
blessedness,38  in  and  of  himself;  and  is  alone  in  and  unto 
himself  all-sufficient,  not  standing  in  need  of  any  creatures 
which  he  hath  made,29  not  deriving  any  glory  from 
them, 30  but  only  manifesting  his  own  glory,  in,  by,  unto, 
and  upon  them  :  he  is  the  alone  fountain  of  all  being,  of 
whom,  through  whom,  and  to  whom,  are  all  things;31  and 
hath  most  sovereign  dominion  over  them,  to  do  by  them, 
for  them,  or  upon  them,  whatsoever  himself  pleaseth.32 
In  his  sight  all  things  are  open  and  manifest; M  his  know- 
ledge is  infinite,  infallible,  and  independent  upon  the 
creature,34  so  as  nothing  is  to  him  contingent  or  uncer- 
tain. 35  He  is  most  holy  in  all  his  counsels,  in  all  his 
works,  and  in  all  his  commands.36  To  him  is  due  from 
angels  and  men,  and  every  other  creature,  whatsoever 
worship,  service,  or  obedience,  he  is  pleased  to  require 
of  them.37 

«  John  v.  26.  I  32  Rev.  iv.  11.    1  Tim.  vi.  15.    Dan. 

26  Acts  vii.  2.  iv.  25,  35. 

27  ps.  cxix.  68.  |  33  Heb.  iv.  13. 

28  1  Tim.  vi.  15.  Rom.  ix.  5.  I  ■«  Rom.  xi.  33,  34.     Ps.  cxlvii.  5. 


29  Acts  xvii.  24,  25.  3«  Acts  xv.  18.     Ezek.  xi.  5. 

no  Job  xxii.  2,  3.  |  36  Ps.  cxlv.  17.     Rom.  vii.  12. 

si   Rom.  xi.  36.  j  "  Rev.  v.  12-14. 

EXPOSITION. 

We  are  here  taught, — First,  That  there  is  but  one  God. 
Secondly,  That  he  is  the  only  living  and  true  God.  Thirdly, 
That  he  is  a  most  pure  spirit.  Fourthly,  That  he  is  possessed 
of  all  possible  perfections. 

1.  The  assertion,  that  there  is  but  one  God,  does  not  mean 
that  there  is  but  one  divine  person,  for  it  is  afterwards  stated, 
that  "  in  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  there  are  three  persons;" 
but  it  means  that  the  Divine  Being  is  numerically  one  in  nature 
or  essence.  This  is  affirmed  in  opposition  to  the  Polytheism 
of  heathen  nations,  and  to  the  heresy  of  the  Tritheists,  who 
hold  that  there  are  three  distinct  Godheads,  or  that  one 
Godhead  is  divided  into  three  distinct  parts.  The  unity  of 
the  Divine  Being  might  be  discovered  by  the  light  of  nature, 
for  the  same  process  of  reasoning  which  leads  to  the  idea 
of  a  God,  leads  also  to  the  conclusion,  that  there  can  be  no 
more  Gods  than  one.  There  can  be  but  one  first  cause,  one 
self-existent,  independent,  omnipotent,  infinite,  and  Supreme 
Being  ;  it  is  a  contradiction  to  suppose  otherwise.     Hence, 


SECT.  I,  2,~]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  25 

though  the  rude  unthinking  multitude  among  the  Pagans 
adored  gods  many,  and  lords  many,  yet  the  wiser  of  their 
philosophers  .  had  their  one  supreme  god;  and  their  poets 
sung  of  one  sovereign  deity,  whom  they  called  the  Father 
of  gods  ami  men.  It  is  unquestionable,  however,  that  the 
heathen  world  received  a  multiplicity  of  gods,  and  the  phi- 
losophers contented  themselves  with  empty  speculations 
about  the  nature  of  the  Deity;  and,  instead  of  instructing 
the  vulgar  in  the  unity  of  God,  confirmed  them  in  their 
error,  by  practically  complying  with  the  customs  of  their 
country.  But  divine  revelation  has  firmly  established  the 
doctrine  of  God's  unity.  Jehovah  solemnly  declares,  "  I, 
even  I,  am  he,  and  there  is  no  god  with  me." — Deut.  xxxii. 
39.  "Before  me  there  was  no  god  formed,  neither  shall 
there  be  after  me." — Isa.  xliii.  10.  The  inspired  writers  of 
the  Old  Testament  have  said  of  him,  "  The  Lord  he  is  God; 
there  is  none  else  besides  him"  (Deut.  iv.  35)  ;  and,  "  Hear, 
O  Israel  :  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord." — Deut.  vi.  4.  Jesus 
adds  his  testimony  to  this  great  truth;  he  told  the  scribe 
that  came  to  question  him  about  his  religion,  "  The  first  of 
ail  the  commandments  is,  Hear,  O  Israel:  the  Lord  our  God 
is  one  Lord;"  and  he  spoke  with  high  approbation  of  the 
answer  returned  to  this,  in  which  "  the  scribe  said  unto  him, 
Well,  Master,  thou  hast  said  the  truth  :  for  there  is  one 
God;  and  there  is  none  other  but  he." — Mark  xii.  29,  32. 
The  Apostle  Paul  often  inculcates  the  same  truth  :  "  We 
know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that  there  is 
none  other  God  but  one." — 1.  Cor.  viii.  4.  "There  is  one 
God,  and  one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus."— 1.  Tim.  ii.  5. 

2.  It  is  asserted,  that  this  God  is  the  only  living  and  true 
God.  The  name  of  God  is,  indeed,  given  in  Scripture  to 
various  other  beings,  on  account  of  some  resemblance  which, 
in  some  particular  respect,  they  bear  to  God.  Angels  are 
called  gods,  on  account  of  the  excellence  of  their  nature. — 
Ps.  xcvii.  7.  Magistrates  are  called  gods,  because,  in  the 
execution  of  their  office,  they  act  in  God's  name,  and  be- 
cause we  are  bound  to  obey  them. — Exod.  xxii.  28.  Moses 
was  a  god  to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron  Avas  his  prophet,  because 
Aaron  received  the  divine  messages,  which  he  carried  to 
Pharaoh  immediately  from  Moses;  whereas  other  prophets 
received  their  messages  to  the  people  immediately  from  God 
himself. — Exod.  vii.  1.  Idols  are  called  gods,  because  idola- 
ters account  them  gods,  and  honour  them  as  such.  And 
Satan  is  called  the  god  of  this  world,  because  he  rules  over 
the  greater  part  of  the  world,  and  they  are  his  servants,  and 


26  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

do  his  works. — 2  Cor.  iv.  4.  But,  "  though  there  be  that 
are  called  gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  yet  to  us 
there  is  but  one  God,"  who  is  the  only  living  and  true  God. 
He  is  styled  the  living  God,  in  order  to  distinguish  him  from 
idols,  which  are  altogether  destitute  of  life.  The  opposition 
between  the  living  God  and  dead  idols  the  Psalmist  states 
and  illustrates  in  a  manner  the  most  convincing. — Ps.  cxv. 
3-7.  He  is  styled  the  true  God,  in  opposition  to  imaginary 
and  fictitious  gods.  The  heathen,  besides  worshipping  dead 
idols,  worshipped  also  living  creatures. — Deut.  xxxii.  17. 
These  were  only  gods  in  their  vain  imagination,  not  in 
reality.  They  were  called  gods,  but  they  were  not  gods  by 
nature. — Gal.  iv.  8.  Between  the  true  God  and  all  rival 
gods  there  is  an  infinite  disparity. 

3.  It  is  asserted  that  this  God  is  a  most  pure  Spirit, — that 
is,  he  is  an  incorporeal,  immaterial,  invisible,  and  immortal 
Being,  without  bodily  parts  or  passions.  "  No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time."  He  "  dwelleth  in  light,  which  no  man  can 
approach  unto,  whom  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see."  He  is 
described  as  "  invisible,  incorruptible,  and  immortal."  The 
Confession  affirms  that  God  is  a  pure  Spirit,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  opposition  to  an  ancient  sect  of  heretics, 
who,  understanding  everything  spoken  of  God  in  a  literal 
sense,  held  that  God  has  bodily  parts  and  a  human  form. 
These  heretics  are  called  Anthropomorpkites ;  a  name  com- 
pounded of  two  Greek  words, — the  one  signifying  human,  and 
the  other,  shape  or  form.  That  corporeal  parts  and  bodily 
members, — such  as  eyes,  ears,  hands,  and  face, — are  ascribed 
to  God  in  the  Scriptures  is  certain;  but  such  language  is  used 
in  accommodation  to  our  capacities,  and  must  be  understood 
in  a  way  suitable  to  a  pure  spirit.  Were  the  great  God  to 
speak  of  his  essence  and  perfections  as  he  is  in  himself,  in- 
stead of  being  informed,  we  would  be  confounded.  He,  there- 
fore, employs  human  properties  and  actions  as  emblems  of  his 
own  spiritual  perfections  and  acts.  We  become  acquainted 
with  persons  and  things  by  seeing  them  or  hearing  of  them  ; 
and  to  intimate  the  perfect  knowledge  which  God  has  of  his 
creatures,  eyes  and  ears  are  ascribed  to  him.  It  is  chiefly  by 
our  hands  that  we  exert  our  bodily  strength ;  and  hands  are 
ascribed  to  God  to  denote  his  irresistible  power.  We  look 
with  an  air  of  complacency  and  satisfaction  on  those  whom 
we  love ;  and  God's  face  denotes  the  manifestation  of  his 
favour.  In  the  same  manner  must  we  explain  the  several 
passions  that  are  ascribed  to  God, — such  as  anger,  fury, 
jealousy,  revenge,  bowels  of  mercy,  &c.  "  Passion  produces 
a  vehemence  of  action ;  so  when  there  is,  in  the  providences  of 


SECT.   1,  2.]      OF  GOD  AND  OP  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  27 

God,  such  a  vehemence  as,  according  to  the  manner  of  men, 
would  import  a  passion,  then  that  passion  is  ascribed  to  God. 
When  he  punishes  men  for  sin,  he  is  said  to  be  angry ;  when 
he  does  that  by  severe  and  redoubled  strokes,  he  is  said  to  be 
full  offwry  and  revenge ;  when  he  punishes  for  idolatry,  or  any 
dishonour  done  to  himself,  he  is  said  to  be  jealous ;  when  he 
changes  the  course  of  his  proceedings,  he  is  said  to  repent ; 
when  his  dispensations  of  providence  are  very  gentle,  and 
his  judgments  come  slowly  from  him,  he  is  said  to  have  bowels. 
And  thus  all  the  varieties  of  providence  come  to  be  expressed 
by  all  that  variety  of  passions  which,  among  men,  might  give 
occasion  to  such  a  variety  of  proceeding."  * 

4.  It  is  asserted  that  this  God  is  possessed  of  all  possible 
perfections.  The  perfections  of  God  are  called  his  attributes, 
because  they  are  ascribed  to  him  as  the  essential  properties 
of  his  nature.  These  attributes  are  variously,  though  imper- 
fectly distinguished,  in  our  ways  of  thinking  about  them. 
They  have  been  called  natural  and  moral,  incommunicable 
and  communicable  attributes, — the  latter  is  the  most  common 
distinction.  Those  attributes  are  called  incommunicable,  of 
which  there  is  not  the  least  resemblance  to  be  found  among 
creatures ;  £hd  those  are  called  communicable,  of  which  there 
is  some  faint,  though  very  imperfect  resemblance  to  be  found 
among  creatures.  Without  attempting  to  class  the  divine 
perfections  under  these  two  heads,  we  shall  arrange  the 
several  parts  of  the  description  of  God  contained  in  the  two 
sections  now  before  us  under  the  following  particulars  : — 

1.  God  is  infinite.  To  be  infinite,  according  to  the  literal 
signification  of  the  word,  is  to  be  unbounded, — unlimited. 
As  applied  to  the  other  attributes  of  God,  this  term  denotes 
their  absolute  perfection.  He  is  infinite  in  his  wisdom,  power, 
holiness,  &c.  As  these  perfections  must  be  considered  after- 
wards, we  only  notice,  at  present,  that  God  is  infinite  in  his 
being,  or  essence.  From  this  results  his  incomprehensibility,  or 
that  supereminent  perfection  which  can  be  comprehended 
by  none  but  himself.  A  perfect  knowledge  of  God  is  com- 
petent to  none  but  himself,  whose  understanding  is  infinite. 
"  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  \  canst  thou  find  out 
the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ? " — Job  xi.  7.  His  infinity,  as 
applied  to  his  being,  also  includes  his  immensity  and  his  omni- 
presence. Betwixt  these  a  distinction  may  be  drawn.  His 
omnipresence  has  a  relation  to  creatures  actually  existing, 
with  every  one  of  which  he  is  intimately  present ;  but  his 
immensity  extends  infinitely  beyond  the  boundaries  of  all 
created  substance.  God  fills  all  places  at  once — heaven,  and 
*  Burnet  on  the  Thrty-Nine  Articles,  Art.  i. 


28  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

earth,  and  hell — with  his  essential  presence.  "  Am  I  a  God 
at  hand,  saith  the  Lord,  and  not  a  God  afar  off?  Can  any 
hide  himself  in  secret  places,  that  I  shall  not  see  him  ? 
saith  the  Lord.  Do  not  I  fill  heaven  and  earth  ?  saith  the 
Lord."— Jer.  xxiii.  23,  24. 

2.  God  is  self-existent  and  independent.  He  has  all  life,  glory, 
and  blessedness,  in  and  of  himself.  His  existence  is  neces- 
sary and  underived  ;  for  his  name  is,  "  I  am  that  I  am." — 
Exod.  iii.  14.  His  glory  and  blessedness  are  likewise  unde- 
rived. His  glory  necessarily  results  from,  or  rather  consists 
in,  the  absolute  perfection  of  his  own  nature,  and  his  blessed- 
ness is  all  summed  up  in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
his  own  infinite  excellencies.  Being  thus  all-sufficient  in 
and  unto  himself,  he  must  be  independent  of  any  other 
being.  He  stands  not  in  need  of  any  creatures  which  he  has 
made,  nor  can  he  derive  any  glory  from  them.  Every  other 
being  receives  its  all  from  him,  but  he  receives  no  advan- 
tage from  any.  "  For  his  pleasure  all  things  are  and  were 
created ;  but  none  can  be  profitable  to  God,  as  he  that 
is  wise  may  be  profitable  to  himself ;  nor  is  it  any  gain  to 
him  that  they  make  their  ways  perfect." — Rev.  iv.  11  ;  Job 
xxii.  2,  3. 

3.  God  is  the  fountain  of  all  being.  As  he  has  life  in  and 
of  himself,  so  he  is  the  author  of  that  life  which  is  in  every 
living  creature.  "  In  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being."  All  the  life  of  the  vegetative,  animal,  and  rational 
world,  the  life  of  grace  here,  and  the  life  of  glory  hereafter, 
are  of  him,  and  derived  from  him.  "  "With  him  is  the  foun- 
tain of  life," — of  all  sorts  of  life.  "  Of  him,  and  through 
him,  and  to  him,  are  all  things." — Rom.  xi.  36.  From  this 
it  follows,  that  God  has  most  sovereign  dominion  over  all  his 
creatures,  to  do  by  them,  for  them,  or  upon  them,  whatsoever 
himself  pleaseth.  He  who  is  the  first  cause  of  all  things, 
must  also  be  the  last  end.  As  he  gave  being  to  all  crea- 
tures, so  he  must  have  an  absolute  right  to  rule  over  them, 
and  to  dispose  of  them  for  the  ends  of  Ms  own  glory.  Hence 
we  are  told,  that  "  his  kingdom  ruleth  over  all,"  and  that 
a  he  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  :  and  none  can  stay  his 
hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou?" — Ps.  ciii.  19; 
Dan.  iv.  35.  But  God  has  not  only  a  right  to  exercise  sove- 
reign dominion  over  his  creatures,  he  has  also  an  indisput- 
able claim  to  their  service  and  obedience.  This  claim  is 
likewise  founded  upon  his  giving  them  their  being.  They 
are  not  their  own,  but  the  Lord's  ;  him,  therefore,  they  are 
bound  to  serve.    Hence  the  Confession,  with  great  propriety, 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  29 

affirms,  that  to  God  "  is  due  from  angels  and  men,  and  every 
other  creature,  whatsoever  worship,  service,  or  obedience,  he 
is  pleased  to  require  of  them." 

4.  God  is  eternal.  The  word  eternal  is  sometimes  used, 
both  in  Scripture  and  in  common  language,  in  a  restricted 
sense,  for  a  long  time,  or  for  a  period  whose  termination  is 
to  us  unknown.  Sometimes  it  denotes  a  duration  which, 
though  not  without  beginning,  is  without  end.  Thus  angels 
and  the  souls  of  men  are  eternal ;  for  though  they  had  a 
beginning,  they  will  have  no  end.  But  eternity,  in  the  strict 
and  proper  sense  of  the  word,  signifies  a  duration  without 
beginning,  without  end,  and  without  succession;  and  in  this 
sense  it  is  peculiar  to  the  great  God.  The  supposition  that 
there  was  a  period  at  which  God  began  to  be,  is  ecpially  re- 
pugnant to  reason  and  to  revelation.  He  that  created  all 
things  must  have  existed  before  any  of  them  began  to  be  ; 
and  his  existence  being  underived,  he  can  never  cease  to 
exist.  The  Scripture  plainly  declares  that  he  is  without 
beginning :  "  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or 
ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting,  thou  art  God." — Ps.  xc.  2.  It  no 
less  plainly  declares  that  he  is  without  end :  "  The  Lord 
shall  endure  for  ever." — Ps.  ix.  7.  That  he  is  without  suc- 
cession is  no  less  explicitly  declared  :  "  One  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day." 
— 2  Pet.  iii.  8.  There  is  one  passage  in  which  an  unbegin- 
ning,  unending,   and  unsuccessive  duration,  is  ascribed  to 

God Ps.  cii.  25-27.      One  of  his  glorious  titles  is,  "  The 

high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity ; "  and  he  is 
styled,  "  The  everlasting  God, — the  Father  of  eternity, — the 
First  and  the  Last." 

5.  God  is  immutable.  "  With  him  is  no  variableness, 
neither  shadow  of  turning."  To  this  important  truth  reason 
and  revelation  give  their  united  testimony.  His  immu- 
tability necessarily  results  from  his  absolute  perfection.  If 
he  were  to  change,  it  must  be  either  to  the  better  or  to  the 
worse.  He  cannot  change  to  the  better,  for  that  would 
imply  past  imperfectiou  ;  he  cannot  change  to  the  worse,  for 
then  he  would  cease  to  be  perfect.  He  must,  therefore,  re- 
main invariably  the  same.  To  the  absolute  immutability  of 
God  the  Scripture  gives  numerous  testimonies.  —  Numb, 
xxiii.  19;  Ps.  xxxiii.  11;  Mai.  iii.  6. 

God  is  unchangeable  in  his  being.  "  I  am  that  I  am,"  is 
the  name  by  which  he  made  himself  known  to  Moses,  a  name 
which  conveys  the  idea  not  only  of  self-existence  and  inde- 
pendence, but  also  of  immutability.     He  is  unchangeable  in 


30  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

his  glory.  Though  the  manifestation  of  his  glory  may  vary, 
yet  he  is,  and  ever  was,  infinitely  glorious  in  himself;  for  his 
essential  glory  is  neither  capable  of  increase  nor  susceptible 
of  diminution.  He  is  unchangeable  in  his  blessedness  ;  for 
as  it  consists  in  the  enjoyment  of  himself,  so  it  can  neither 
be  increased  nor  diminished  by  anything  that  creatures  can 
do  for  or  against  him. — Job  xxxv.  5-7.  He  is  unchangeable 
in  his  purposes  and  counsels.  He  proclaims  with  divine 
majesty,  "  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my 
pleasure  :  I  have  spoken  it,  I  will  also  bring  it  to  pass ;  I 
have  purposed  it,  I  will  also  do  it." — Isa.  xlvi.  10,  11.  He 
is  unchangeable  in  his  covenant,  love,  and  promises  to  his 
people. — Isa.  liv.  10.  When,  therefore,  we  read  in  Scripture 
of  God's  repenting,  we  must  understand  such  language  of  an 
alteration  of  the  outward  dispensations  of  his  providence. 
We  are  by  no  means  to  attribute  to  him  any  change  of  mind ; 
for,  in  this  respect,  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  change.  "  He 
is  in  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him  ? " — Job  xxiii.  13. 

6.  God  is  all-knowing.  In  his  sight  all  things  are  open  and 
manifest.  He  has  a  perfect  knowledge  of  himself,  and  he 
only  knows  himself  perfectly.  He  knows  all  things  besides 
himself,  whether  they  be  past,  present,  or  to  come,  in  our 
way  of  measuring  them  by  time.  He  knows  all  creatures, 
from  the  greatest  to  the  least ;  he  knows  all  the  actions  of 
his  creatures,  whether  secret  or  open  ;  all  their  words, 
thoughts,  and  intentions.  Hence  the  Scripture  declares, 
"  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in  every  place,  beholding  the  evil 
and  the  good." — Prov.  xv.  3.  "  He  is  acquainted  with  all 
our  ways,  there  is  not  a  word  in  our  tongue  but  he  knoweth 
it  altogether,  and  he  understandeth  our  thought  afar  off." — 
Ps.  cxxxix.  2-4.  "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world." — Acts  xv.  18.  Yea,  he 
knows  the  most  contingent  events :  the  actions  of  free  agents, 
and  all  events  concerned  in  them,  were  always  known  with 
certainty  to  him ;  so  that,  though  they  be  contingent  in  their 
own  nature,  or  ever  so  uncertain  as  to  us,  yet,  in  reality,  no- 
thing is  to  him  contingent  or  uncertain.  We  cannot  doubt 
this,  when  we  consider  the  numerous  prophecies,  relating  to 
things  of  this  kind,  that  have  received  a  most  exact  and  cir- 
cumstantial accomplishment,  many  ages  after  the  prophecies 
were  announced.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  God  knows  things, 
not  by  information,  nor  by  reasoning  and  deduction,  nor  by 
succession  of  ideas,  but  by  a  single  intuitive  glance  ;  and  he 
knows  them  comprehensively,  and  infallibly. 

7.  God  is  most  free  and  most  absolute.  "  He  worketh  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  lus  own  will." — Eph.  i.  11.     His 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OP  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  31 

will  is  infinitely  free,  and  tt  he  doth  according  to  his  will  in 
the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth." 
He  has  an  absolute  right  to  do  whatsoever  he  pleaseth,  and 
"  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ? " 
— Dan.  iv.  35. 

8.  God  is  infinitely  wise.  The  wisdom  of  God  is  that  per- 
fection of  his  nature  by  which  he  directs  all  things  to  their 
proper  end — the  end  for  which  he  gave  them  being ;  and 
this  is  his  own  glory  :  for  as  he  is  the  most  excellent  Being, 
nothing  can  be  so  excellent  an  end  as  his  own  glory.  How 
admirably  is  the  wisdom  of  God  displayed  in  creation !  Whe- 
ther  we  look  upward  to  the  heavens,  or  downward  to  the 
earth ;  whether  we  survey  the  mineral,  the  vegetable,  or  the 
animal  world,  can  we  forbear  to  exclaim  with  the  devout 
Psalmist,  "  O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works  !  in  wis- 
dom thou  hast  made  them  all." — Ps.  civ.  24.  When  we 
consider  the  vast  variety  of  creatures  and  things  which  God 
has  produced  from  the  same  original  matter,  the  fitness  of 
everything  for  its  intended  purpose,  the  subserviency  of  one 
thing  to  another,  and  the  conspiring  of  all  to  a  common 
end — how  conspicuous  is  his  wisdom  !  Nor  is  the  wisdom  of 
God  less  apparent  in  the  government  of  the  world,  especially 
in  effecting  the  most  grand  and  glorious  designs  by  weak 
and  feeble  means,  and  even  by  the  bad  dispositions  of  men — 
"  making  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  and  restrain- 
ing the  remainder  thereof."  "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches 
both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !" — Rom.  xi.  33. 
But  this  perfection  of  God  shines  forth  with  the  brightest 
lustre  in  the  method  of  our  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ.  No- 
thing less  than  wisdom  truly  divine  could  have  devised  a 
plan  whereby  "  mercy  and  truth  should  meet  together,  and 
righteousness  and  peace  should  embrace  each  other."  Here 
is  "  the  hidden  wisdom  of  God."  Here  "  he  has  abounded 
toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence  ; "  and  hence  the 
publication  of  this  contrivance  is  spoken  of  as  a  discovery  of 
"  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." — Eph.  iiL  10. 

9.  God  is  infinitely  powerful,  or  almighty.  The  power  of 
God  is  that  perfection  whereby  he  is  able  to  effect  all  things 
that  do  not  imply  a  contradiction,  either  to  his  own  perfec- 
tions, or  to  the  nature  of  things  themselves.  "  With  God 
nothing  shall  be  impossible,"  said  the  angel  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  "  With  God  all  things  are  possible,"  said  Jesus  to 
his  disciples.  How  great  must  be  that  power  which  pro- 
duced the  beautiful  fabric  of  the  universe  out  of  nothing ! 
"  By  the  word  of  the  Lord  were  the  heavens  made,  and  all 
the  host  of  them  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth."  "For  he  spake, 


32  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  II. 

and  it  was  done  ;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." — Ps. 
xxxiii.  6,  9.  His  power  is  still  exerted  in  the  preservation 
of  the  world;  for  he  upholds  all  creatures  in  their  being  and 
operations  by  the  word  of  his  power.  It  appears  conspicu- 
ously in  the  moral  government  of  the  world — especially  in 
restraining  wicked  men  from  their  purposes  ;  for  "he  stilleth 
the  noise  of  the  waves,  and  the  raging  of  the  people."  But 
it  is  most  eminently  displayed  in  the  work  of  redemption  by 
Jesus  Christ ;  in  the  formation  of  his  human  nature  in  the 
womb  of  the  Virgin;  in  supporting  his  human  nature  under 
that  load  of  wrath  which  was  due  to  us  for  our  transgres- 
sions ;  and  in  raising  him  from  the  dead.  It  is  also  displayed 
in  the  production  of  that  wonderful  change  which  takes 
place  in  the  conversion  of  a  sinner,  which  in  Scripture  is 
termed  a  new  creation;  in  the  preservation  of  believers  in  a 
state  of  grace;  in  enabling  them  to  resist  and  overcome 
strong  temptations,  to  perform  arduous  duties,  and  to  bear 
heavy  trials  with  patience  and  joyfulness  ;  and  it  will  be 
signally  manifested  in  raising  up  their  bodies,  glorious  and 
immortal,  at  the  last  day. 

It  may  be  observed,  that  although  there  are  some  things 
which  God  cannot  do,  yet  this  implies  no  imperfection  in  his 
power.  He  cannot  do  what  involves  a  contradiction  ;  for 
instance,  he  cannot  make  a  thing  to  be,  and  not  to  be,  at  the 
same  time  ;  he  cannot  do  what  is  repugnant  to  his  nature, 
or  his  essential  perfections  ;  he  cannot  deny  himself — he 
cannot  lie — he  cannot  look  upon  sin — he  cannot  sleep,  or 
suffer,  or  cease  to  exist.  This,  however,  argues  no  defect  of 
power,  but  arises  from  Ids  absolute  perfection. 

10.  God  is  infinitely  holy.  The  holiness  of  God  is  the  per- 
fect rectitude  of  his  nature,  whereby  he  is  absolutely  free  from 
all  moral  impurity,  and,  in  all  that  he  does,  acts  like  himself, 
and  for  the  advancement  of  his  own  honour  ;  delighting  in 
what  accords  with,  and  abhorring  what  is  contrary  to,  his 
nature  'and  will.  Holiness  is,  as  it  were,  the  lustre  and  glory 
of  all  the  divine  perfections  ;  hence  God  is  styled  "  glorious 
in  holiness."  It  is  that  perfection  which  those  exalted  spirits, 
who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  glories  of  the  divine  nature, 
dwell  most  upon  in  their  songs  of  praise ;  hence,  the  seraphim 
cry  one  to  another,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts." 
— Isa.  vi.  3.  God  himself  puts  peculiar  honour  upon  his  holi- 
ness ;  for  he  singles  it  out  as  that  attribute  by  which  he 
swears  that  he  will  accomplish  whatever  he  hath  spoken. — 
Ps.  lxxxix.  35.  The  holiness  of  God  is  manifest  from  the 
original  condition  of  all  rational  creatures ;  for,  when  formed 
by  him,  they  were  perfectly  holy.    It  has  been  awfully  dis- 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  33 

played  in  the  judgments  which  God  lias  executed  upon  sin- 
ners. The  expulsion  of  the  rebel  angels  from  heaven, — the 
exclusion  of  man  from  paradise,  as  soon  as  he  became  a  sin- 
ner,— the  destruction  of  the  old  world  by  water, — the  over- 
throw of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  these,  and  innumerable 
other  instances,  the  Scripture  records  of  God's  awful  dis- 
pleasure against  sin.  But  nothing  affords  such  a  striking 
demonstration  of  God's  hatred  of  sin  as  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  his  own  Son.  God  must  be  of  purer  eyes  than  to 
behold  iniquity,  since,  when  our  guilt  was  transferred  to  his 
own  Son,  he  spared  him  not.  Could  he  have  overlooked  sin 
in  any  case,  he  would  certainly  have  done  it  in  the  case  of 
his  dear  Son.  But,  though  he  was  the  object  of  his  Father's 
ineffable  delight,  and  though  he  was  personally  innocent,  yet, 
when  he  stood  charged  with  the  sins  of  his  people,  he  could 
not  be  excused  from  suffering  and  dying.  "  It  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bruise  him,  he  hath  put  him  to  grief." — Isa.  liii.  10. 
11.  God  is  infinitely  jttst.  The  justice  of  God  is  that  per- 
fection of  his  nature  according  to  which  he  is  infinitely 
righteous  in  himself,  and  just  and  ecpial  in  all  his  proceed- 
ings with  regard  to  his  creatures.  "  A  God  of  truth,  and 
without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  he." — Deut.xxxii.  4.  God 
is  just  to  himself,  by  acting  in  all  things  agreeably  to  his 
nature  and  perfections,  and  by  maintaining  his  own  rights 
and  prerogatives.  He  is  just  to  his  creatures,  by  governing 
them  in  a  way  agreeably  to  their  nature,  according  to  a  law 
which  he  has  given  them.  God's  justice  has  been  variously 
distinguished,  according  to  the  various  ways  in  which  it  is 
exercised.  His  legislative  justice,  is  his  giving  righteous  laws 
to  his  creatures,  suited  to  their  original  abilities,  command- 
ing or  forbidding  such  things  as  are  fit  for  them  to  do  or 
forbear.  Hence,  his  law  is  said  to  be  "holy,  and  just,  and 
good." — Rom.  vii.  12.  His  distributive  justice,  is  his  render- 
ing to  every  one  his  due,  according  to  law,  without  respect 
of  persons.  This,  again,  is  distinguished  by  various  names. 
There  is  remunerative  justice,  whereby  God  rewards  the  sin- 
cere,  though  imperfect  obedience  of  those  who  are  accepted 
in  his  sight  as  righteous,  through  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ  imputed  to  them,  and  received  by  faith.  "  Verily, 
there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous."  "  God  is  not  unrigh- 
teous, to  forget  their  work  and  labour  of  love." — Ps.  lviii. 
11  ;  lleb.  vi.  10.  But  this  reward  is  entirely  of  free  grace, 
and  not  of  debt.  There  is  punitive  justice,  whereby  God  ren- 
ders to  the  sinner  the  punishment  due  to  his  crimes. 
This  is  nothing  else  than  God's  distributive  justice,  as  it 
regards  punishment.  It  is  sometimes  called  vindicatory 
c 


34  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

justice,  and  sometimes  avenging  justice.  This,  we  hold,  in 
opposition  to  Socinians,  is  not  an  arbitrary  effect  of  the  will 
of  God,  but  an  essential  perfection  of  his  nature  ;  and,  there- 
fore, upon  the  entrance  of  sin,  its  exercise  was  indispensably 
necessary.  God  must  inflict  the  punishment  due  to  sin, 
either  upon  the  transgressor  himself,  or  upon  another  as  his 
surety.  This  appears  from  the  holiness  of  God,  which  re- 
quires that  he  should  demonstrate  his  aversion  to  sin  by 
punishing  it  according  to  its  demerit.  It  appears  from  the 
threatening  of  the  law,  taken  in  connection  with  the  truth  of 
of  God.  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely 
die,"  was  the  penalty  annexed  to  the  law,  and  the  faithful- 
ness of  God  is  pledged  for  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
upon  transgressors.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
conscience  in  all  men,  apprehending  that  punishment  will 
overtake  the  transgressor ;  hence,  both  barbarous  and  civi- 
lized nations  have  had  recourse  to  sacrifices  to  appease  the 
anger  of  the  Deity.  This  appears,  further,  from  God's  in- 
flicting remarkable  judgments,  even  in  this  life,  on  sinning 
nations  and  individuals  ;  and  especially  from  his  executing 
punishment  upon  his  own  Son,  as  the  surety  of  sinners. 
Christ  having  substituted  himself  in  the  place  of  sinners, 
justice  exacted  of  him  full  satisfaction.  And  never  did 
justice  appear  in  such  terrible  majesty,  as  when  God  gave  it 
the  commission  to  awake,  and  smite  the  man  that  was  his 
fellow. — Zech.  xiii.  7.  Then  it  was  seen  that  God  "  can  by  no 
means  clear  the  guilty,"  or  allow  sin  to  pass  with  impunity. 

Several  writers,  of  late,  have  attributed  to  God  what  they 
call  public  justice  ;  that  is,  justice  which  respects  the  great 
general  end  of  government, — the  public  good.  But,  we  ap- 
prehend, there  is  no  foundation,  either  in  Scripture  or  reason, 
for  supposing  that  this  kind  of  justice  has  any  place  in  the 
moral  government  of  God.  Such  an  idea  proceeds  upon  the 
supposition  that  the  divine  government,  so  far  as  punish- 
ment is  concerned,  is  completely  analogous  to  human  govern- 
ments. There  is,  however,  a  wide  and  obvious  distinction 
between  the  procedure  of  human  governments  and  the  pro- 
cedure of  the  Most  High. 

12.  God  is  infinitely  good.  Though  all  the  perfections  of 
God  are  his  glory,  yet  this  is  particularly  so  called ;  for 
when  Moses  earnestly  desired  to  behold  the  glory  of  Jehovah, 
the  Lord  said,  u  I  will  make  all  my  goodness  pass  before  thee, 
and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of  the  Lord  before  thee." 
And  the  Lord  passed  by  before  him,  and  proclaimed,  The 


erm«\ 


Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  longsufft 
and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,"  &c. — Exod.  xxxiii.  18, 


B) 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  35 

19,  and  xxxiv.  6.  The  goodness  of  God  is  distinguished  by 
different  names,  according  to  the  different  aspects  in  which 
it  is  viewed,  or  the  different  objects  about  which  it  is  exer- 
cised. When  it  relieves  the  miserable,  it  is  called  mercy ; 
when  it  confers  favours  on  the  undeserving,  or  on  those  who 
deserve  nothing  but  what  is  evil,  it  is  called  grace  ;  when  it 
supplies  the  wants  of  indigent  beings,  it  is  called  bounty ; 
when  it  forbears  to  execute  punishment  upon  provoking 
rebels,  it  is  called  patience  or  longsuffering.  The  goodness  of 
God  is,  therefore,  a  very  comprehensive  term  ;  it  includes 
all  the  forms  of  his  kindness  towards  men,  whether  considered 
as  creatures,  as  sinners,  or  as  saints.  But  we  may  describe 
it  generally  as  that  property  of  the  Divine  Being  which  dis- 
poses him  to  communicate  happiness  to  his  creatures,  as  far 
as  is  consistent  with  his  other  perfections. 

Innumerable  are  the  instances  in  which  God  has  mani- 
fested his  goodness.  What  but  goodness  could  prompt  him 
to  give  being  to  so  many  creatures,  when  he  stood  in  no 
need  of  them,  being  infinitely  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of 
himself  ?  What  goodness  does  he  display  in  upholding  in- 
numerable creatures  in  existence,  and  in  making  ample  pro- 
vision for  their  wants  ?  But  the  most  astonishing  display  of 
this,  as  well  as  of  all  the  other  perfections  of  Deity,  is  in 
the  redemption  of  sinners.  In  the  contrivance  of  the  plan, 
and  in  the  execution  of  it  from  first  to  last,  God  appears 
good,  in  a  manner  and  to  a  degree  that  astonishes  the  in- 
habitants both  of  earth  and  of  heaven.  The  goodness  of 
God,  as  manifested  in  this  work,  is  usually  expressed  by  the 
term  love ;  and  the  love  herein  displayed  surpasses  know- 
ledge.— John  iii.  16. 

The  goodness  of  God  may  be  considered  as  absolute  and 
relative, — as  it  is  in  himself,  and  as  it  is  exercised  toward  his 
creatures — Ps.  cxix.  68.  It  may  also  be  considered  as 
common  and  special.  Of  his  goodness,  in  the  former  view, 
his  creatures  promiscuously  are  partakers — Ps.  xxxiii.  5, 
cxlv.  9.  Of  his  goodness,  in  the  latter  view,  his  chosen 
people  are  partakers. — Ps.  cvi.  5. 

13.  God  is  infinitely  true  and  faithful.  The  truth  of  God 
is  that  perfection  of  his  nature  whereby  it  is  impossible  for 
him  not  to  fulfil  whatever  he  hath  spoken.  He  is  "  a  God 
of  truth,  and  without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  he."  What- 
ever God  hath  spoken,  whether  in  a  way  of  promise  or  of 
threatening,  he  will,  sooner  or  later,  infallibly  accomplish. 
"  It  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie."  No  difficulties  can  arise 
to  render  a  performance  of  his  word  impracticable  ;  and  he 
is  not  liable  to  a  change  of  mind Numb,  xxiii.  19.  We  may, 


36  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  II. 

therefore,  be  confidently  assured,  that  "  there  shall  not  fail 
one  good  word  of  all  that  the  Lord  our  God  hath  spoken." 

How  blessed  are  they  who,  upon  good  grounds,  can  call 
this  all-perfect  Being  their  Father  and  their  God  !  How 
miserable  those  who  live  "  without  God  in  the  world  !"  and 
what  a  "  fearful  thing"  must  it  be  to  "  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  living  God  !"  That  we  may  escape  this  misery,  and  pos- 
sess the  happiness  of  those  "  whose  God  is  the  Lord,"  let  us 
unreservedly  yield  ourselves  to  God,  through  Christ,  and 
take  him  to  be  our  portion  for  ever.  May  the  unfeigned 
language  of  every  reader  be,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  besides 
thee." 

Section  III. — In  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  there  be 
three  persons,  of  one  substance,  power,  and  eternity  ; 
God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy 
Ghost.38  The  Father  is  of  none,  neither  begotten  nor 
proceeding  ;  the  Son  is  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father;3 
the  Holy  Ghost  eternally  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son.40 

38  1  John  v.  7.      Matt.  iii.    16,  17;  I  39  John  i.  14,18. 

xxviii.  19.    2  Cor.  xiii.  14.  |  i0  John  xv.  26.     Gal.  iv.  6. 

"We  are  here  taught, — First,  That  in  the  one  Godhead  there 
are  three  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Secondly,  That  these  three  are  distinguished  by  their  personal 
properties.    Thirdly,  That  each  of  these  persons  is  truly  God. 

1.  That  in  the  one  Godhead  there  are  three  persons,  is 
affirmed  in  opposition  to  the  Anti-trinitarians,  who  maintain 
that  God  is  one  in  respect  of  personality  as  well  as  of  essence. 
The  term  which  has  been  chosen  to  express  the  doctrine  now 
under  consideration  is  Trinity.  This  word  is  not  to  be  found 
in  Scripture,  but  it  is  a  very  appropriate  and  happy  term  to 
express  this  profound  mystery.  It  is  a  compound  Latin  word, 
signifying  three  in  unity;  that  is,  three  distinct  persons  in  one 
undivided  Godhead.  The  adversaries  of  this  doctrine  now 
call  themselves  Unitarians,  by  which  they  mean  to  intimate 
their  belief  of  only  one  God,  and  insinuate  that  those  who 
believe  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  must  admit  more  than 
one  God.  But  we  maintain,  as  strongly  as  they,  that  there 
is  only  one  God,  and  we  think  it  perfectly  consistent  with 
this  belief,  to  acknowledge  three  persons  in  the  Godhead. 
This,  indeed,  is  a  mystery,  but  there  is  nothing  in  it  absurd, 
or  contradictory  to  reason.     We  do  not  say  that  three  arc  one 


SECT.  3.]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  37 

in  the  same  sense  and  in  the  same  respect  in  which  they 
are  three ;  that  would,  no  doubt,  be  a  plain  contradiction  in 
terms,  But  we  say,  they  are  three  in  one  respect,  one  in  an- 
other respect, — three  in  person,  one  in  essence  ;  and  there  is  no 
absurdity  in  that  at  all.  It  surpasses  our  reason,  indeed, 
fully  to  understand  it ;  and  so  do  a  thousand  things  besides, 
which  yet  we  know  are  true  and  real.  But,  if  it  be  a  doc- 
trine clearly  revealed  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  we  are  bound 
to  believe  it,  however  incapable  we  may  be  of  comprehend- 
ing it. 

Before  proceeding  to  establish  the  doctrine,  we  must  ex- 
plain the  terms  employed.  The  word  Godhead  signifies  the 
divine  nature.  This  is  a  scriptural  term. — Rom.  i.  20  ;  Col. 
ii.  9.  In  the  Scriptures,  and,  agreeably  to  them,  in  our  Con- 
fession, Godhead  denotes  that  infinite,  eternal,  and  unchange- 
able nature,  or  essence,  which  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Father, 
or  the  Son,  or  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  common  to  all  the  three. 
The  distinction  in  the  Godhead  is  characterised  by  the  word 
jierson.  This  term,  in  the  common  acceptation,  denotes  "  a 
separate  and  independent  being,  whose  existence  and  actions 
have  no  necessary  connection  with  the  existence  and  actions 
of  any  other  being.  It  has  been  defined  to  be  a  thinking 
substance,  which  can  act  by  itself,  or  an  intelligent  agent, 
who  is  neither  a  part  of,  nor  sustained  by  another."  But  this 
term,  when  applied  to  the  Sacred  Three,  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood in  exactly  the  same  sense  as  when  applied  to 
creatures.  The  cases  are  totally  dissimilar.  "  Three  human 
persons  have  the  same  specific  nature,  but  three  divine  persons 
have  the  same  numerical  nature.  Anti-trinitarians  affirm,  that, 
by  holding  three  divine  persons,  we  necessarily  make  three 
Gods,  because  they  most  unfairly  maintain,  in  the  face  of  our 
solemn  protestations,  that  we  affix  the  same  idea  to  the  word 
person  which  it  bears  when  used  in  reference  to  men.  But  we 
deny  that  it  has  this  meaning.  We  do  not  teach  that  there 
are  three  distinct  essences  mysteriously  conjoined, — that  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Spirit  possess,  each  of  them  sepa- 
rately from  the  others,  a  divine  nature  and  divine  perfections. 
What  we  believe  is  this,  that  there  is  a  distinction  in  the 
Godhead,  to  which  there  is  nothing  similar  in  creatures,  who 
are  one  in  every  sense  of  the  term  ;  and  we  employ  the  word 
person  to  express  that  distinction.  It  may  be  objectionable, 
because,  being  applied  to  other  beings,  it  is  apt  to  suggest  an 
idea  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  unity  of  God  ;  but  this 
is  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  the  imperfection  of  human 
language  ;  and  we  endeavoxir  to  guard  against  the  abuse  by 
declaring  that,  in  this  application,  it  must  be  qualified  so  as 


38  CONFESSION  OF  FATTH.  [[CHAP.  II. 

to  exclude  a  separate  existence.  When  we  say  that  there 
are  three  persons  in  the  Godhead,  the  word  person  signifies 
a  distinction  which  we  do  not  pretend  to  explain,  but  which 
does  not  intrench  upon  the  unity  of  essence."* 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  not  discoverable  by  the 
light  of  nature,  or  by  unassisted  reason.  It  can  only  be 
known  by  divine  revelation,  and  it  is  amply  confirmed  by 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  There  are  many  passages  in  the  Old 
Testament  which  prove  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the  God- 
head ;  such  as  those  passages  in  which  one  divine  person  is 
introduced  as  speaking  of  or  to  another.  To  these  we  can 
only  refer.— Gen.  i.  26,  iii.  22,  xi.  7 ;  Ps.  xlv.  6,  7,  ex.  1  ; 
Isa.  vi.  8.  All  these  texts  plainly  point  out  a  plurality  of 
persons  in  the  Godhead.  But  it  is  evident  from  Scripture, 
not  only  that  there  is  a  plurality,  but  also  that  there  is  a 
Trinity,  or  only  three  persons  in  the  Godhead.  This  is  plain 
from  Isa.  lxi.  1,  where  our  Divine  Redeemer  thus  speaks: 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me ;  because  the  Lord 
hath  anointed  me,"  &c.  Here  one  divine  person  is  the 
speaker  ;  he  speaks  of  another  divine  person,  whom  he  styles 
the  Spirit ;  and  of  a  third  divine  person,  whom  he  calls  the 
Lord  God.  The  work  of  creation  is  ascribed  to  the  agency 
of  three  distinct  persons,  Ps.  xxxiii.  6  :  "  By  the  word  of  the 
Lord  were  the  heavens  made,  and  all  the  host  of  them  by  the 
breath  of  his  mouth."  Here  three  are  distinctly  pointed  out, 
— the  Father ;  the  Word,  or  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  the  breath 
of  his  mouth,  which  can  be  no  other  than  the  Holy  Spirit.  But 
in  the  New  Testament  this  doctrine  is  still  more  explicitly 
revealed.  In  the  history  of  our  Lord's  baptism  we  have  a 
plain  intimation  of  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity. — Matt.  iii.  16, 
17.  The  Father,  by  an  audible  voice  from  heaven,  bears 
testimony  to  the  incarnate  Redeemer ;  the  Son,  in  human 
nature,  is  baptized  by  John  ;  and  the  Holy  Sp>irit  descends 
upon  him  in  a  visible  manner.  Hence  the  primitive  Christians 
used  to  say  to  any  who  doubted  the  truth  of  this  doctrine, 
"  Go  to  Jordan,  and  there  you  will  see  the  Trinity."  Plainer 
still  is  this  truth  from  the  form  of  words  appointed  to  be  used 
in  Christian  baptism, — "  Baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — Matt,  xxviii. 
19.  To  baptize  in  the  name  of  one,  is  to  baptize  by  his  autho- 
rity, and  dedicate  to  his  service.  This  is  competent  only  to 
a  divine  person.  Now,  if  the  Father,  in  whose  name  we  are 
baptized,  be  a  person,  so  must  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
for  we  are  baptized  in  their  name,  as  well  as  in  the  name  of 
the  Father.  The  apostolical  benediction  furnishes  another 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  64,  65. 


SECT.  3.]      OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.  39 

proof  of  a  Trinity  :  "  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be 
with  you  all." — 2  Cor.  xiii.  14.  "  This  is  evidently  a  prayer, 
which  it  would  be  impiety  and  idolatry  to  address  to  any 
other  but  God.  Yet  three  persons  are  distinctly  addressed, 
and  consequently  are  recognised  as  possessed  of  divine  per- 
fections ;  as  knowing  our  wants,  and  hearing  our  requests, 
and  able  to  do  what  we  ask  ;  as  the  fountain  of  all  the 
blessedness  implied  in  the  terms,  grace,  love,  and  com- 
munion." We  have  a  most  explicit  testimony  to  this  doc- 
trine, 1  John.  v.  7,  "There  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these 
three  are  one."  The  genuineness  of  this  text  has  been  much 
disputed ;  but  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  does  not  rest  on  a 
single  text,  as  has  been  already  shown. 

Nor  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  a  mere  speculation. 
On  the  contrary,  to  use  the  language  of  Dr  Dick,  "without 
the  knowledge  of  this  doctrine  it  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand the  grandest  of  the  works  of  God — redemption, — in 
which  the  three  persons  act  distinct  and  conspicuous  parts. 
We  are  called  to  contemplate  the  love  of  the  Father,  the 
condescension  of  the  Son,  and  the  gracious  operations  of 
the  Spirit.  Redemption  is  not  the  work  of  a  solitary 
agent,  but  of  three,  all  concurring  in  the  salvation  of  our 
perishing  race.  Hence  we  owe  gratitude  to  each  of  the 
persons  of  the  Godhead  distinctly,  and  are  bound  to  give  to 
each  the  glory  to  which  he  is  entitled.  We  are  baptized 
in  their  name,  and  consecrated  to  their  service ;  and  our 
prayers  are  addressed  not  to  God  absolutely  considered, 
but  to  the  Father,  through  the  Son,  and  by  the  assistance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  Christian 
system  of  duty  is  founded  upon  this  doctrine,  and  that  without 
the  belief  of  it  there  can  be  no  acceptable  religion.  So  far  is 
it  from  being  useless,  that  it  is  the  very  foundation  of  prac- 
ical  piety." 

II.  The  Sacred  Three  are  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
their  personal  properties.  It  is  the  personal  property  of  the 
Father  to  beget  the  Son.— Ps.  ii.  7.  It  is  the  personal  property 
of  the  Son  to  be  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father. — John.  i. 
14.  It  is  the  personal  property  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  proceed 
eternally  from  the  Father  and  the  Son. — John  xv.  26  ;  Gal. 
iv.  6.  These  are  called  personal  properties,  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  essential  perfections  of  Deity.  Essential  per- 
fections are  common  to  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  a  personal  property  is  something  peculiar  to 
each,  something  which  may  be  affirmed  of  one,  but  cannot  be 
affirmed  of  the  other  two.     Paternity  is  peculiar  to  the  first 


40  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fciIAP.  IT. 

person,  filiation  to  the  second,  and  procession  to  the  third. 
We  pretend  not  to  explain  these  personal  properties ;  here, 
if  in  anything,  it  is  safest  to  abide  by  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture. 

III.  Each  of  the  Sacred  Three  is  truly  God.  That  the 
Father  is  God  is  admitted  on  all  hands  ;  it  is,  therefore,  un- 
necessary to  prove  what  no  one  denies.  But  the  Deity  of 
the  Son  was  controverted  and  denied  at  an  early  period  of 
the  Christian  Church.  The  Arians,  who  arose  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  century,  held  that  the  Son  had  a  begin- 
ning, and  is  a  creature,  though  in  antiquity  and  excellency 
superior  to  all  other  creatures.  The  Socinians,  who  sprung 
up  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  went  further 
than  the  Arians.  They  held  that  the  second  person  had  no 
existence  till  he  was  formed  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  and 
that  he  is  called  the  Son  of  God  because  God  employed  him 
to  propagate  divine  truth  by  his  ministry,  and  to  confirm  it 
by  his  death,  and  advanced  him,  after  his  resurrection,  to  the 
government  of  the  universe.  The  modern  Socinians,  avIio 
call  themselves  Unitarians,  the  disciples  of  Dr  Priestley,  have 
gone  still  further  in  degrading  the  Son  of  God.  They  main- 
tain that  Christ  is  a  mere  man,  that  he  was  the  human  off- 
spring of  Joseph  and  Mary,  that  he  is  no  proper  object  of 
religious  worship,  but  only  the  most  excellent  of  human  cha- 
racters,— the  most  eminent  of  all  the  prophets  of  God.  They 
go  along  with  the  old  Socinians  in  maintaining  that  Jesus 
had  no  existence  prior  to  his  birth,  but  they  disclaim  the 
notion  of  Socinus,  that,  since  his  resurrection,  he  has  been 
advanced  to  the  government  of  the  universe  ;  and  contend 
that,  as  he  differed  in  no  respect  from  other  men  in  his  mode 
of  coming  into  the  world,  so  he  can  have  no  dominion  or 
superiority  over  men  in  the  world  of  spirits.  In  oppo- 
sition to  adversaries,  earlier  and  later,  our  Confession  asserts 
that  the  Son  is  God,  of  one  substance,  power,  and  eternity, 
with  the  Father.  This  might  be  evinced  by  a  great  variety 
of  arguments,  which  we  can  only  indicate  in  a  very  summary 
manner. 

1.  Divine  names  are  applied  to  him.  He  is  expressly  called 
God, — John  i.  1  ;  Horn.  ix.  5 ;  he  is  called  the  mighty  God, 
— Isa.  ix.  6 ;  the  true  God, — 1  John  v.  20 ;  the  great  God, 
— Tit.  ii.  13.  The  Lord,  or  Jehovah,  the  incommunicable 
name  of  God,  is  frequently  applied  to  the  Son, — Isa.  vi.  1 , 
applied  to  Christ, — John  xii.  41 ;  Isa.  xl.  3,  applied  to 
Christ, — John  i.  93  ;  Numb.  xxi.  6.  7,  applied  to  Christ, — 
1  Cor.  x.  9. 

2.  Divine  attributes  are  ascribed  to  the  Son  no  less  than  to 
the  Father.     Eternity  is  ascribed  to  him, — Mic.  v.  2  ;  Rev. 


ECT.  o.]   OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY.       41 

i.  S;  omniscience, — John  ii.  24,  xxi.  17;  omnipresence, — 
Matt,  xxviii.  20;  omnipotence, — Rev.  i.  8;  Phil.  iii.  21; 
immutability, — Ps.  cii.  25-27,  compared  with  Heb.  i.  10-12, 
and  xiii.  8. 

3.  Divine  works  are  ascribed  to  him.  The  production  of  all 
things  out  of  nothing, — John  i.  3  ;  the  preservation  and 
government  of  all  things, — Col.  i.  17 ;  Heb.  i.  3  ;  John  v.  17,27  ; 
the  purchasing  of  eternal  redemption, — Heb.  ix.  12  ;  the 
forgiveness  of  sins, — Mark  ii.  5  ;  the  raising  of  the  dead  at 
the  last  day,— John  v.  28,  29;  the  judging  of  the  world. 
— Rom,  xiv.  10. 

4.  We  are  commanded  to  give  the  same  divine  worship  to 
the  Son  that  is  due  to  the  Father.  The  established  law  of 
worship  is,  "Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  GocL  and 
him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  But  divine  worship  is  expressly 
commanded  to  be  rendered  to  the  Son. — John  v.  23.  Angels, 
the  highest  of  created  beings,  are  enjoined  to  worship  him, — 
Heb.  i.  6  ;  and  we  have  numerous  instances  of  divine  wor- 
ship  being    given   to    him Acts   vii.   59  ;    2   Cor.  xii.  8 ; 

2  Thess.  ii.  16. 

5.  As  an  additional  proof  that  the  Son,  no  less  than  the 
Father,  is  the  supreme  God,  it  may  be  observed,  that  he 
is  expressly  affirmed  to  be  equal  with  the  Father.  He 
claimed  equality  with  God,  and  for  so  doing  was  accused  of 
blasphemy  by  the  Jews ;  yet  he  never  charged  them  with 
misconstruing  his  words,  but  appealed  to  his  works  in  proof 
of  his  claim. — John  v.  18,  x.  30,  38.  He  thought  it  no 
robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, — Phil.  ii.  6 ;  and  his  eternal 
Father  acknowledges  him  to  be  his  fellow  and  equal — Zech. 
xiii.  7. 

We  may  here  observe,  that  when  Christ  saith  that  "  his 
Father  is  greater  than  he  "  (John  xiv.  28),  he  does  not  mean 
that  he  is  greater  with  respect  to  his  nature,  but  with  respect 
to  his  office  as  Mediator  ;  in  which  respect  Christ  sustains  the 
character  of  the  Father's  servant,  and  acts  in  virtue  of  a 
commission  from  him. — Isa.  xiii.  1.  But  as  the  second  per- 
son in  the  undivided  Trinity,  he  is  in  all  respects  equal  to  his 
Divine  Father. 

The  divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  also  denied  by  Socinians  ; 
but  it  may  be  evinced  by  the  same  arguments  which  prove 
the  Deity  of  the  Son. 

1.  Divine  names  are  ascribed  to  the  Spirit  equally  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  He  is  called  God.  In  Acts 
v.  3,  Ananias  is  said  to  "lie  unto  the  Holy  Ghost  ;"  and 
in  ver.  4  he  is  said  to  "lie  unto  God."  True  Christians 
are  said  to  be  temples  of  God,  inasnruch  as  "  the  Spirit  of 
God    dwelleth  in  them."— 1  Cor.  iii.  16.     The  name   Jeho- 


42  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £cHAP.  III. 

rak  is  also  given  to  him Isa.  vi.  8,  9,  compared  with  Acts 

xxviii.  25. 

2.  Divine  attributes  are  ascribed  to  the  Spirit.  Eternity  is 
ascribed  to  him, — Gen.  i.  1,2;  omnipresence, — Ps.  cxxxix.  7  ; 
omniscience, — 1  Cor.  ii.  1 0, 1 1 .  In  fine,  the  apostle  attributes 
to  the  Spirit  the  most  sovereign  will  and  omnipotent  power. — 
1  Cor.  xii.  11. 

3.  Divine  works  are  ascribed  to  the  Spirit.  Creation  is 
ascribed  to  him,  in  reference  to  the  world  in  general,  and  to 
man  in  particular. — Gen.  i.  2 ;  Job  xxxiii.  4.  The  preserva- 
tion of  all  things  is  as  much  the  work  of  the  Spirit  as  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son. — Ps.  civ.  30.  The  application  of  re- 
demption is  peculiarly  ascribed  to  the  Spirit. — Tit.  hi.  5  ; 
1  Cor.  vi.  11. 

4.  Divine  worship  is  ascribed  to  him.  Prayer,  one  of  the 
most  solemn  parts  of  worship,  is  addressed  to  him. — Rev.  i.  4, 
5.  By  the  seven  spirits,  in  this  passage,  are  not  intended  any 
created  spirits,  but  the  third  person  of  the  Godhead,  who  is 
so  called  on  account  of  the  variety  and  perfection  of  his  gifts 
and  graces.  Baptism  is  administered  in  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son  ;  and  the  apostolical  benediction  is  pronounced  in  his 
name. — 2  Cor.  xiii.  14. 

The  same  glory,  then,  is  due  to  the  undivided  Three, — to 
the  Son  no  less  than  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
equally  with  the  Father  and  the  Son. 


CHAPTER  III. 

of  god's  eternal  decree. 

Section  I. — God  from  all  eternity  did,  by  the  most 
wise  and  holy  counsel  of  his  own  will,  freely  and  un- 
changeably ordain  whatsoever  comes  to  pass :  *  yet  so 
as   thereby  neither  i&  God  the  author  of  sin,2  nor  is 

1  Eph.  i.  11.    Rom.  xi.  33.    Heb.  vi.  I  2  James  i.  13,  17.    1  John  i.  5. 
17.    Rom.  ix.  15,  18.;  | 


SEC*.  1,  2.]    OF  GOD'S  ETERNAL  DECREE.  43 

violence  offered  to  the  will  of  the  creatures,  nor  is  the 
liberty  or  contingency  of  second  causes  taken  away,  but 
rather  established.3 

Section  II — Although  God  knows  whatsoever  may 
or  can  come  to  pass  upon  all  supposed  conditions;4  yet 
hath  he  not  decreed  anything  because  he  foresaw  it  as 
future,  or  as  that  which  would  come  to  pass  upon  such 
conditions.5 

3  Actsii.  23.     Matt.  xvii.  12.      Acts  j4  Acts  xv.  18.    1  Sam.  xxiii.  11,  12. 
iv.  27,  28.    John  xix.  11.     Prov.  Matt.  xi.  21,  23. 

xvi.  33.  |  6  Rom.  ix.  11,  13,  16,  18. 


EXPOSITION. 

By  the  decree  of  God  is  meant  his  purpose  or  determi- 
nation with  respect  to  future  things  ;  or,  more  fully,  his 
determinate  counsel,  whereby,  from  all  eternity,  he  fore- 
ordained whatever  he  should  do,  or  would  permit  to  be  done, 
in  time. 

This  subject  is  one  of  the  most  abstruse  and  intricate  in 
theology,  and  it  has  been  the  fruitful  source  of  a  variety  of 
controversies  in  the  Christian  Church.  But  whatever  diver- 
sity of  opinion  may  obtain  respecting  the  details  of  the  doc- 
trine, "  no  man  will  deny  that  there  are  divine  decrees,  who 
believes  that  God  is  an  intelligent  being,  and  considers  what 
this  character  implies.  An  intelligent  being  is  one  who  knows 
and  judges,  who  purposes  ends  and  devises  means,  who  acts 
from  design,  conceives  a  plan,  and  then  proceeds  to  execute 
it.  Fortune  was  worshipped  as  a  goddess  by  the  ancient 
heathens,  and  was  represented  as  blind,  to  signify  that  she 
was  guided  by  no  fixed  rule,  and  distributed  her  favours  at 
random.  Surely  no  person  of  common  sense,  not  to  say  piety, 
will  impute  procedure  so  irrational  to  the  Lord  of  universal 
nature.  As  he  knew  all  things  which  his  power  could  accom- 
plish, there  were,  undoubtedly,  reasons  which  determined  him 
to  do  one  thing,  and  not  to  do  another ;  and  his  choice,  which 
was  founded  upon  those  reasons,  was  his  decree."  * 

That  God  must  have  decreed  all  future  things,  is  a  con- 
clusion which  necessarily  flows  from  his  foreknowledge,  inde- 
pendence, and  immutability.  "  The  foreknowledge  of  God 
will  necessarily  infer  a  decree  ;  for  God  could  not  foreknow 
that  things  would  be,  unless  he  had  decreed  they  should  be ; 
and  that  because  things  would  not  be  future,  unless  he  had 
*  Dick's  lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  p.  167. 


14<  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  III. 

decreed  they  should  be."  *  If  God  be  an  independent 
being,  all  creatures  must  have  an  entire  dependence  upon 
him;  but  this  dependence  proves  undeniably  that  all  their 
acts  must  be  regulated  by  his  sovereign  will.  If  God  be  of 
one  mind,  which  none  can  change,  he  must  have  unalterably 
fixed  everything  in  his  purpose  which  he  eiFects  in  his  provi- 
dence. 

This  doctrine  is  plainly  revealed  in  the  Scriptures.  They 
speak  of  God's  foreknowledge,  his  purpose,  his  will,  the  de- 
terminate counsel  of  his  will,  and  his  predestination.  "  Whom 
he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate." — Rom.  viii.  29. 
"  He  hath  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  accor- 
ding to  his  good  pleasure,  which  he  hath  purposed  in  him- 
self." "  He  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will." — Eph.  i.  9,  11.  "Christ,"  says  an  apostle,  "was  de- 
livered by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of 
God."— Acts  ii.  23. 

"  The  decrees  of  God  relate  to  all  future  things,  without 
exception  ;  whatever  is  done  in  time  was  foreordained  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  time.  His  purpose  was  concerned  with 
everything,  whether  great  or  small,  whether  good  or  evil ; 
although,  in  reference  to  the  latter,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
distinguish  between  appointment  and  permission.  It  was 
concerned  with  things  necessary,  free,  and  contingent;  with 
the  movements  of  matter,  which  are  necessary ;  with  the 
volitions  and  actions  of  intelligent  creatures,  which  are  free  ; 
and  with  such  things  as  we  call  accidents,  because  they  take 
place  undesignedly  on  our  part,  and  without  any  cause  which 
we  could  discover.  It  was  concerned  about  our  life  and 
our  death ;  about  our  state  in  time  and  our  state  in  eter- 
nity. In  short,  the  decrees  of  God  are  as  comprehensive  as 
his  government,  which  extends  to  all  creatures,  and  to  all 
events."  f 

The  decrees  of  God  are  free.  He  was  not  impelled  to  de- 
cree from  any  exigence  of  the  divine  nature  ;  this  would  be 
to  deny  his  self-sufficiency.  Neither  was  he  under  any 
external  constraint  ;  this  would  be  destructive  of  his  inde- 
pendence. His  decrees,  therefore,  must  be  the  sovereign  and 
free  act  of  his  will.  By  this  it  is  not  meant  to  insinuate  that 
they  are  arbitrary  decisions  ;  but  merely  that,  in  making  his 
decrees,  he  was  under  no  control,  and  acted  according  to  his 
own  sovereignty. 

The  decrees  of  God  are  most  wise.  They  are  called  "  the 
counsel  of  his  will,"  to  show  that,  though  his  will  be  free,  yet 

*  Edwards'  Miscellaneous  Observations,  p.  114. 
t  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  p.  170. 


SECT.  1,  2.J         op  god's  eternal  decree.  4.5 

he  always  acts  in  a  manner  consummately  wise.  He  needs 
not  to  deliberate,  or  take  counsel  with  others,  but  all  his  de- 
crees are  the  result  of  unerring  wisdom.  "  O  the  depth  of 
the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  how  un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past-finding  out !" 
"  Wisdom  is  discovered  in  the  selection  of  the  most  proper 
ends,  and  of  the  fittest  means  of  accomplishing  them.  That 
this  character  belongs  to  the  decrees  of  God  is  evident  from 
what  we  know  of  them.  They  are  disclosed  to  us  by  their 
execution  ;  and  every  proof  of  wisdom  in  the  works  of  God 
is  a  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  the  plan  in  conformity  to  which 
they  are  performed." 

The  decrees  of  God  are  eternal.  This  our  Confession  expli- 
citly affirms  : — "  God,  from  all  eternity,  did  ordain  whatsoever 
comes  to  pass."  This  is  asserted  in  opposition  to  the  Soci- 
nians,  who  hold  that  some,  at  least,  of  the  decrees  of  God  are 
temporary.  Those  decrees  which  relate  to  things  dependent 
on  the  free  agency  of  man,  they  maintain,  are  made  in  time. 
But  what  saith  the  Scripture  ?  It  expressly  declares,  that  every 
thing  which  has  happened,  and  everything  which  is  to  happen, 
was  known  to  God  from  everlasting.  "  Known  unto  God  are 
all  his  works,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world." — Acts  xv.  18. 
To  suppose  any  of  the  divine  decrees  to  be  made  in  time,  is 
to  suppose  the  knowledge  of  the  Deity  to  be  limited.  If  from 
eternity  he  knew  all  things  that  come  to  pass,  then  from 
eternity  he  must  have  ordained  them  ;  for  if  they  had  not 
been  determined  upon,  they  coiild  not  have  been  foreknown 
as  certain. 

The  decrees  of  God  are  absolute  and  unconditional.  He  has 
not  decreed  anything,  because  he  foresaw  it  as  future;  and 
the  execution  of  his  decrees  is  not  suspended  upon  any 
condition  which  may  or  may  not  be  performed.  This  is 
the  explicit  doctrine  of  our  Confession,  and  it  is  this  prin- 
ciple which  chiefly  distinguishes  Calvinists  from  Arminians', 
who  maintain  that  God's  decrees  are  not  absolute  but  condi- 
tional. 

"  It  is  granted,  that  some  of  the  decrees  of  God  are  condi- 
tional, in  this  sense,  that  something  is  supposed  to  go  before 
the  event  which  is  the  object  of  the  decree,  and  that,  this 
order  being  established,  the  one  will  not  take  place  without 
the  other.  He  decreed,  for  example,  to  save  Paul  and  the 
companions  of  his  voyage  to  Italy  ;  but  he  decreed  to  save 
them  only  on  condition  that  the  sailors  should  remain  in  the 
ship. — Acts  xxvii.  He  has  decreed  to  save  many  from  the 
wrath  to  come  ;  but  he  has  decreed  to  save  them  only  if 
they  believe  in  Christ,  and  turn  by  him  from  the  error  of 


46  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  III. 

their  ways.  But  these  decrees  are  conditional  only  in  appear- 
ance. They  merely  state  the  order  in  which  the  events 
should  be  accomplished  ;  they  establish  a  connection  between 
the  means  and  the  end,  but  do  not  leave  the  means  uncertain. 
When  God  decreed  to  save  Paul  and  his  companions,  he 
decreed  that  the  sailors  should  be  prevented  from  leaving 
the  ship  ;  and  accordingly  gave  Paul  previous  notice  of  the 
preservation  of  every  person  on  board.  When  he  decreed 
to  save  those  who  should  believe,  he  decreed  to  give  them 
faith  ;  and,  accordingly,  we  are  informed,  that  those  whom 
he  predestinated  he  also  calls  into  the  fellowship  of  his  Son. 
— Rom.  viii.  30.  That  any  decree  is  conditional  in  the  sense  " 
of  Arminians,  "  that  it  depends  upon  the  will  of  man,  of 
which  he  is  sovereign  master,  so  that  he  may  will  or  not  will 
as  he  pleases, — we  deny.  'My  counsel,'  says  God, '  shall  stand, 
and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure.' — Isa.  xlvi.  10.  But  he  could 
not  speak  so,  if  his  counsel  depended  upon  a  condition  which 
might  not  be  performed."*  Conditional  decrees  are  incon- 
sistent with  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God,  and  are  in  men  the 
effects  of  weakness.  They  are  also  inconsistent  with  the 
independence  of  God,  making  them  to  depend  upon  the  free 
will  or  agency  of  his  creatures.  The  accomplishment  of 
them,  too,  would  be  altogether  uncertain  ;  but  the  Scripture 
assures  us,  that  "  the  counsel  of  the  Lord  standeth  for  ever, 
and  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  to  all  generations." — Ps. 
xxxiii.  11.  All  his  purposes  are  unalterably  determined, 
and  their  execution  infallibly  certain.  "  There  are  many 
devices  in  a  man's  heart,"  which  he  is  unable  to  accomplish, 
"  nevertheless  the  counsel  of  the  Lord,  that  shall  stand." — 
Prov.  xix.  21. 

It  has  been  often  objected  to  the  doctrine  respecting  the 
divine  decrees  taught  in  our  Confession,  that  it  represents 
God  as  the  author  of  sin.  But  the  Confession  expressly 
guards  against  this  inference,  by  declaring  that  God  has  so 
ordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass  as  that  he  is  not  thereby 
the  author  of  sin.  The  decree  of  God  is  either  effective  or 
permissive.  His  effective  decree  respects  all  the  good  that 
comes  to  pass ;  his  permissive  decree  respects  the  evil  that 
is  in  sinful  actions.  We  must  also  distinguish  betwixt  an 
action  purely  as  such,  and  the  sinfulness  of  the  action.  The 
decree  of  God  is  effective  with  respect  to  the  action  abstractly 
considered  ;  it  is  permissive  with  respect  to  the  sinfulness  of 
the  action  as  a  moral  evil. 

It  has  also  been  objected,  that  if  God  has  foreordained 
whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  human  liberty  is  taken  away.    To 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  175,  176,  &c. 


sect.  3,  4.]         of  god's  eternal  decree.  47 

this  it  has  been  commonly  replied,  that  it  is  sufficient  to 
human  liberty,  that  a  man  acts  without  any  constraint,  and 
according  to  his  own  free  choice  ;  that  the  divine  decree  is 
extrinsic  to  the  human  mind  ;  and,  while  it  secures  the  futii- 
rition  of  events,  it  leaves  rational  agents  to  act  as  freely  as 
if  there  had  been  no  decree.  This  answer,  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, merely  amounts  to  an  assertion  that,  notwith- 
standing the  decree  of  God,  man  retains  his  liberty  of 
action.  We  still  wish  to  know  how  the  divine  pre-ordina- 
tion  of  the  event  is  consistent  with  human  liberty.  "  Upon 
such  a  subject,"  says  Dr  Dick,  "  no  man  should  be  ashamed 
to  acknowledge  his  ignorance.  We  are  not  required  to 
reconcile  the  divine  decrees  and  human  liberty.  It  is 
enough  to  know  that  God  has  decreed  all  things  which 
come  to  pass,  and  that  men  are  answerable  for  their  ac- 
tions. Of  both  these  truths  we  are  assured  by  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  the  latter  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  con- 
science. We  feel  that,  although  not  independent  upon  God, 
we  are  free  ;  so  that  we  excuse  ourselves  when  we  have 
done  our  duty,  and  accuse  ourselves  when  we  have  neglected 
it.  Sentiments  of  approbation  and  disapprobation,  in  refer- 
ence to  our  own  conduct  or  that  of  other  men,  would  have 
no  existence  in  our  minds  if  we  believed  that  men  are  neces- 
sary agents.  But  the  tie  which  connects  the  divine  decrees 
and  human  liberty  is  invisible.  '  Such  knowledge  is  too 
wonderful  for  us  ;  it  is  high,  we  cannot  attain  unto  it.'  " — Ps. 
cxxxix.  6. 

It  may  be  further  observed,  that,  although  God  has  un- 
changeably ordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  yet  this  does 
not  take  away  the  contingency  of  second  causes,  either  in 
themselves  or  as  to  us.  Nothing  can  be  more  contingent 
than  the  decision  of  the  lot, — yet  "  the  lot  is  cast  into  the 
lap  ;  but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord." — Prov. 
xvi.  33. 

Section  III. — By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  mani- 
festation of  his  glory,  some  men  and  angels  6  are  pre- 
destinated unto  everlasting  life,  and  others  foreordained 
to  everlasting  death.7 

Section  IV. — These  angels  and  men,  thus  predesti- 
nated and  foreordained,  are  particularly  and  unchangeably 

«  1  Tim.  v.  21.     Matt.  xxv.  41.  I  7  Rom.  ix.  22,  23.  Eph.  i.  5,  6.  Prov. 

xvi.  4. 


48  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [_CHAP.  III. 

designed,  and  their  number  is  so  certain  and  definite, 
that  it  cannot  be  either  increased  or  diminished.3 

Section  V. — Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated 
unto  life,  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was 
laid,  according  to  his  eternal  and  immutable  purpose, 
and  the  secret  counsel  and  good  pleasure  of  his  will, 
hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlasting  glory,9  out  of  his 
mere  free  grace  and  love,  without  an}'  foresight  of  faith 
or  good  works,  or  perseverance  in  either  of  them,  or  any 
other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  conditions,  or  causes 
moving  him  thereunto;10  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his 
glorious  grace.11 

8  2  Tim.  ii.  19.    John  xiii,  18.  I  10  Rom.  ix.  11,  13,  16.     Eph.  i.  4,  9. 

9  1  Eph.  i.  4,  9,  11.       Rom.  viii.  30.     "  Eph.  i.  6,  12. 

2  Tim.  i.  9.     1  Thess.  v.  9. 


DXl'OSITION. 

The  decree  of  God,  with  respect  to  the  everlasting  state 
of  angels  and  men,  is  known  by  the  name  of  predestination ; 
and  this  consists  of  two  branches,  generally  distinguished  by 
the  names  of  election  and  reprobation. 

That  part  of  the  angels  were  elected  is  inferred  from  that 
passage  of  Scripture  in  which  the  elect  omgeh  are  mentioned. 
1  Tim.  v.  21.  Of  the  fallen  angels  two  apostles  make  ex- 
press mention.  2  Pet.  ii.  4 ;  Jude  6.  Thus  the  election  of 
a  part  of  the  angels  is  explicitly  taught  in  Scripture,  and  the 
non-election  of  others  is  necessarily  implied  ;  for  election  is 
a  relative  term,  and  necessarily  involves  the  idea  of  rejection. 

Of  the  decree  of  election,  as  it  relates  to  men,  the  above 
sections  contain  a  full  statement,  and  a  subset  [uent  section 
states  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  respecting  what  is  usually 
termed  the  decree  of  reprobation.  That  there  is  such  a  thing 
as  election,  in  some  sense  or  other,  must  be  admitted  by  all 
who  believe  the  Scriptures  ;  but  many  who  retain  the  word, 
completely  explain  away  the  doctrine  which  the  Bible 
teaches  upon  the  subject. 

Some  will  allow  of  no  election  but  that  of  nations,  or  of  whole 
Churches,  in  their  collective  capacity.  That  the  Scripture 
speaks  of  such  a  general  election  is  admitted ;  but  this  is  not 
inconsistent  with  a  particular  and  personal  election.  The 
Jews  were  a  chosen  generation,  separated  from  among  the 
other  nations  of  the  world,  to  be,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the 
people  of  God  ;  but  our  Lord  intimates  that  among  them 


SECT.  5.]  OF  GOD'S  ETERNAL  DECREE.  49 

there  was  a  remnant  chosen  in  a  superior  sense. — Matt.  xxiv. 
22.  The  Apostle  Paul  also  saith,  "  Even  at  this  present  time 
there  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace." — Rom. 
xi.  5.  That  it  is  of  the  Jews,  the  chosen  nation,  the  apostle 
speaks,  and  that  he  distinguishes  a  remnant  from  the  great 
body  of  them,  is  sufficiently  manifest ;  and  he  plainly  inti- 
mates, that  the  former  were  chosen  in  such  a  sense  as  the 
latter  were  not. 

Some  allow  only  of  an  election  to  external  privileges. 
Holding  that  the  Scripture  speaks  solely  of  an  election  of 
communities,  they  maintain  that  they  are  only  chosen  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  external  means  of  salvation.  But  we  are 
assured  from  Scripture,  that  they  who  believe  "  were  or- 
dained to  eternal  life,"  and  that  they  were  "  chosen  to  salva- 
tion."— Acts  xiii.  48  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  13. 

Some,  by  election,  understand  no  more  than  a  separation 
of  persons  from  the  world,  made  in  time,  and  thus  identify 
it  with  their  calling,  or  conversion.  But  in  Scripture,  election 
and  calling  are  clearly  distinguished;  and  the  latter  is  repre- 
sented as  the  effect  of  the  former.  Persons  are  said  to  be 
u  called  according  to  God's  purpose,"  and  "  whom  he  did  pre- 
destinate, them  he  also  called." — Rom.  viii.  28-30.  Now, 
predestination  and  the  purpose  of  God  must  be  very  different 
from  calling,  which  proceeds  from  it,  unless  the  cause  and 
the  effect  are  the  same  thing.  To  put  such  interpretations 
upon  the  word  election,  is  to  wrest  the  language  of  Scripture, 
and  to  impose  upon  it  a  sense  contrary  to  its  obvious  mean- 
ing. 

It  would  be  tedious,  and  would  serve  no  good  purpose,  to 
enumerate  the  multifarious  opinions  which  have  been  held 
on  this  subject.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  the  opinion 
of  the  Socinians,  and  of  the  Arminians.  The  Socinians  deny 
the  certain  prescience  of  future  contingencies,  such  as  the 
determinations  of  free  agents  ;  and,  therefore,  the  only  de- 
cree respecting  the  salvation  of  men  which  they  will  admit 
to  have  been  made  from  eternity,  and  to  be  unchangeable, 
is  a  general  conditional  decree,  that  such  as  believe  and  obey 
the  gospel  shall  be  saved  ;  and,  according  to  them,  a  special 
decree  concerning  particular  persons,  is  only  made  in  time, 
when  persons  perform  the  condition  contained  in  the  general 
decree.  The  Arminians,  or  Remonstrants,  as  they  are  also 
called,  are  distinguished  from  the  Socinians,  by  admitting 
that  contingent  events,  such  as  the  determinations  and  actions 
of  men,  are  foreseen  by  God  ;  but  they  also  deny  absolute 
and  unconditional  election,  and  maintain,  that  whatever  God 
has  decreed  respecting  men,  is  founded  on  the  foresight  of 
D 


50  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  III. 

their  conduct.  Having  foreseen,  without  any  decree,  that 
Adam  would  involve  himself  and  his  posterity  in  sin  and  its 
consequences,  he  purposed  to  send  his  Son  to  die  for  them 
all,  and  to  give  them  sufficient  grace  to  improve  the  means 
of  salvation  ;  and  knowing  beforehand  who  would  believe 
and  persevere  to  the  end,  and  who  would  not,  he  chose  the 
former  to  eternal  life,  and  left  the  latter  in  a  state  of  con- 
demnation. There  is,  however,  a  diversity  of  opinion  among 
the  holders  of  this  general  system  ;  and  some  of  them  coin- 
cide with  Socinians,  iu  maintaining,  that  the  decrees  of  God 
respecting  men  are  not  eternal,  but  are  made  in  time  ;  that 
men  are  elected  to  eternal  life  after  they  have  believed,  and 
that,  if  they  fall  into  a  state  of  unbelief  and  impenitence,  the 
sentence  or  decree  is  reversed. 

In  opposition  to  these  systems,  our  Confession  teaches  that 
God  made  choice  of,  and  predestinated  a  certain  and  definite 
number  of  individuals  to  everlasting  life  ;  that  he  predesti- 
nated them  unto  life  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was 
laid  ;  that  in  so  doing,  he  acted  according  to  his  sovereign 
will,  and  was  not  influenced  by  the  foresight  of  their  faith  or 
good  works,  or  perseverance  in  either  of  them  ;  and  that  this 
purpose  is  immutable,  it  being  impossible  that  any  of  the 
elect  should  perish.  That  these  doctrines  are  in  accordance 
with  Scripture  may  be  easily  evinced. 

1.  God  made  choice  of,  and  predestinated,  a  certain  and 
definite  number  of  individuals  to  everlasting  life.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Socinians,  God  predestinated  to  eternal  life,  not 
any  particular  individuals  of  mankind,  but  a  certain  sort  or 
description  of  men  ;  not  persons,  but  characters.  The  Scrip- 
ture, however,  clearly  teaches  that  God  made  choice  of  a 
certain  determinate  number  of  persons  from  among  the  rest 
of  the  human  race,  and  ordained  them  to  eternal  life.  It  is 
said,  "The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his." — 2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
He  perfectly  knows  how  many,  and  who  in  particular,  his 
elect  are.  Hence  their  names  are  said  to  be  enrolled  in  a 
book,  called  the  Booh  of  Life  ;  for  it  is  the  book  in  winch  are 
registered  the  names  of  all  the  individuals  of  mankind  who 
were  chosen  to  everlasting  life.  A  person's  name  is  that 
whereby  he  is  known  and  distinguished  from  others  ;  when, 
therefore,  their  names  are  said  to  be  written  in  a  book,  it 
intimates  that  God  has  an  exact  knowledge  of  all  the  indivi- 
duals whom  he  has  chosen. 

2.  God  predestinated  these  individuals  to  life  from  eter- 
nity. According  to  Socinians,  and  some  Arminians,  as  has 
been  already  noticed,  special  election  only  takes  place  in 
time,  when  persons  actually  believe  and  obey  the  gospel. 


SECT.  5.]     OP  GODS  ETERNAL  DECREE.  51 

But  an  election  in  time  is  at  direct  variance  with  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture.  It  is  said  (Eph.  i.  4),  "  God  hath 
chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world;"  and 
this  emphatical  phrase  is  evidently  expressive  of  eternity. 
Thus  Paul  addresses  the  Thessalonian  Christians,  "  God 
hath  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation." — 2  Thess. 
ii.  13.  That  the  phrase  "  from  the  beginning "  denotes 
eternity,  is  evident  from  Prov.  viii.  23,  where  Christ  is 
introduced  saying,  "  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from 
the  beginning,  ere  ever  the  earth  was."  That  the  phrase 
"  from  the  beginning,"  is  here  equivalent  to  the  phrase 
"  from  everlasting,"  is  manifest.  Indeed,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive of  any  new  determinations  arising  in  the  divine  mind, 
without  supposing  the  Divine  Being  defective  in  know- 
ledge, or  mutable  in  his  perfections, — suppositions  utterly 
incompatible  with  the  nature  of  that  Being,  whose  name  is 
Jehovah. 

3.  In  making  this  choice,  God  acted  from  his  own  sovereign 
will,  and  was  not  influenced  by  any  foresight  of  their  faith 
or  other  qualifications.  According  to  Arminians,  God's  de- 
cree respecting  the  salvation  of  men  is  founded  upon  their 
foreseen  faith  and  good  works.  Thus,  "  the  decree  of  God, 
although  prior  in  time,  is  posterior  in  order  to  the  actions  of 
men,  and  is  dependent  upon  the  determination  of  their  will. 
But  to  this  opinion,  so  derogatory  to  the  supreme  dominion 
and  absolute  authority  of  God,  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  is 
directly  opposed.  Election  is  ascribed  to  grace,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  works  ;  and  these  two  causes  are  represented  as 
incompatible  and  mutually  destructive.  '  Even  so  then  at 
this  present  time,  there  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  election 
of  grace.  And  if  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works; 
otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.  But  if  it  be  of  works, 
then  it  is  no  more  grace;  otherwise  work  is  no  more  work/ 
— Rom.  xi.  5,  6.  How  is  it  possible  to  reconcile  with  these 
words  the  opinion  that  the  foresight  of  men's  good  works 
was  the  cause  of  their  election  ?  Besides,  it  is  worthy  of 
particular  attention,  that  faith  and  holiness  which  the  advo- 
cates of  conditional  decrees  make  the  causes  of  election,  are 
expressly  said  in  Scripture  to  be  the  effects  of  it. — 2  Thess.  ii. 
13  ;  Eph.  i.  4.  In  Rom.  ix.  10-13,  Paul  produces  the  case 
of  Jacob  and  Esau  as  an  illustration  of  the  subject,  and 
traces  the  predestination  of  individuals  to  happiness  or 
misery  to  the  sovereignty  of  God,  without  any  consideration 
of  their  works.  As  the  lot  of  the  two  sons  of  Isaac  was 
settled  prior  to  their  personal  conduct,  so  the  apostle  signi- 
fies, that  the  appointment  of  particular  persons  to  salvation, 


52  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  III. 

depends  solely  upon  the  good  pleasure  of  God."*  That 
election  is  founded  on  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  and  not  on 
anything  in  its  objects,  is  clearly  stated,  verse  16  of  the  same 
chapter :  "  It  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that 
runneth,  but  of  God  that  sheweth  mercy  :"  and  also  in  verse 
18  :  "  Therefore  he  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will,"  &c.  Were 
it  otherwise,  there  would  be  no  shadow  of  objection  to  the 
doctrine.  "  How  could  men  say  it  was  unjust,  if  God  chose 
one  and  rejected  another  according  to  their  works  ?  And  how 
could  any  one  object,  as  in  verse  19,  'that  as  the  will  of  God 
could  not  be  resisted,  men  were  not  to  be  blamed,'  if  the  de- 
cision in  question  did  not  depend  on  the  will  of  God,  but  on 
that  of  men  ?  How  easy  for  the  apostle  to  have  answered  the 
objector,  '  You  are  mistaken,  the  choice  is  not  of  God,  he 
does  not  choose  whom  he  wills,  but  whom  he  sees  will  choose 
him  !  It  is  not  his  will,  but  man's  that  decides  the  point.' 
Paul  does  not  so  answer,  but  vindicates  the  doctrine  of  the 
divine  sovereignty.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  Paul  had  to 
answer  the  same  objections  which  are  now  constantly  urged 
against  the  doctrine  of  election,  goes  far  to  show  that  that 
doctrine  was  his."t 

4.  The  purpose  of  God  respecting  his  elect  is  immutable. 
As  Arminians  hold  that  saints  may  fall  from  a  state  of  grace, 
so  they  maintain  that  a  person  who  is  one  of  the  elect  to-day, 
may  become  one  of  the  reprobate  to-morrow.  They  affirm 
that  "  men  may  make  their  election  void," — that  "  as  they 
change  themselves  from  believers  to  unbelievers,  so  the 
divine  determination  concerning  them  changes."  But  the 
Scripture  expressly  declares,  that  "  the  counsel  of  the  Lord 
standeth  for  ever,  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  to  all  genera- 
tions."— Ps.  xxxiii.  11.  Besides  this  general  assurance  of 
the  immutability  of  his  counsel,  it  is  affirmed  that  "the 
foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal,  The  Lord 
knoweth  them  that  are  his." — 2  Tim.  ii.  19.  The  purpose  of 
God,  according  to  election,  shall  stand  ;  so  that  the  number 
of  the  elect  can  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished. 

There  is  one  circumstance  connected  with  election  that 
remains  to  be  noticed.  The  elect  are  stated  to  have  been 
"  chosen  in  Christ,"  which,  indeed,  is  the  express  language 
of  Scripture. — Eph.  i.  4.  This  cannot  mean  that  the  media- 
tory work  of  Christ  was  the  cause  of  their  election  ;  for,  as 
has  been  already  shown,  election  proceeds  from  the  mere 
sovereign  will  of  God;  and  the  Scripture  represents  the 
mission  of  our  Saviour  as  the  effect  of  the  love  of  God. — 

*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  189,  190. 
t  Hodge's  Commentary  on  the  Romans. 


SECT.  6.]     OF  GOD'S  ETERNAL  DECREE.  53 

John  iii.  16.  The  mediation  of  Christ  was  necessary,  in 
order  that  the  effects  of  electing  love  might  be  bestowed 
upon  God's  chosen,  in  a  consistency  with  the  rights  and 
honour  of  his  justice  ;  but  election  itself  originated  in  divine 
sovereignty,  and  had  no  other  cause  than  the  good  pleasure 
of  God's  will.—  Eph.  i.  5.  The  divine  purpose  is  one,  em- 
bracing the  means  as  well  as  the  end  ;  but  according  to  our 
conceptions  of  the  operations  of  the  divine  mind,  the  end  is 
first  in  intention,  and  then  the  means  are  appointed  by  which 
it  is  to  be  carried  into  effect.  The  phrase,  "  chosen  in  Christ" 
signifies  therefore,  we  apprehend,  that  God  had  a  respect  to 
the  mediation  of  Christ,  not  as  the  cause  of  their  election, 
but  as  the  means  by  which  the  purpose  of  election  was  to  be 
executed. 

Section  VI As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto 

glory,  so  hath  he,  by  the  eternal  and  most  free  purpose 
of  his  will,  foreordained  all  the  means  thereunto.12 
Wherefore  they  who  are  elected  being  fallen  in  Adam, 
are  redeemed  by  Christ ; 13  are  effectually  called  unto 
faith  in  Christ  by  his  Spirit  working  in  due  season; 
are  justified,  adopted,  sanctified,14  and  kept  by  his  power 
through  faith  unto  salvation.15  Neither  are  any  other 
redeemed  by  Christ,  effectually  called,  justified,  adopted, 
sanctified,  and  saved,  but  the  elect  only.16 

12  1  Pet.  i.  2.     Eph.  i.  4,  5;  ii.  10.  I  15  1  Pet.  i.  5. 

2  Thess.  ii.  13.  ' 6  John  xvii.  9.    Rom.  viii.  28.    John 

18  1  Thess.  v.  9,  10.    Tit.  ii.  14.  I  vi.  64,  65 ;  x.  26;  viii.  47.  1  John 

i*  Rom.  viii.  30.    Eph.  i.  5.  2  Thess.  ii.  19. 

ii.  13.  I 

EXPOSITION. 

In  this  section  we  have,  first,  a  general  statement,  that.,  in 
the  divine  purpose,  the  means  and  the  end  are  inseparably 
connected.  As  God  appointed  the  elect  to  glory,  so  he 
appointed  them  to  obtain  that  glory  in  and  through  Christ, 
and  on  account  of  his  merits  alone.— 1  Thess.  v.  9.  He  like- 
wise appointed  them  to  all  those  means  which  are  indispen- 
sably necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  glory  ;  such  as  faith 
and  sanctification,  and  perseverance  therein  to  the  end. — 
2  Thess.  ii.  13.  Thus,  though  the  mediation  of  Christ  was 
not  the  cause  of  their  election,  yet  his  obedience  and  death 
were  the  grand  means  appointed  for  the  execution  of  that 
gracious  purpose ;  and  though  the  Almighty  chose  no  man 


54>  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fCHAP.  III. 

to  glory  because  of  his  future  faith  and  holiness,  yet  provi- 
sion was  made  in  the  eternal  purpose  of  God  for  the  faith 
and  sanctification  of  all  his  chosen,  prior  to  their  enjoyment 
of  bliss.  It  is,  therefore,  a  gross  abuse  of  the  doctrine  of 
election,  for  persons  to  expect  that  they  shall  attain  the  end, 
while  they  neglect  to  use  the  appointed  means.  No  man 
acts  in  this  manner  in  regard  to  the  common  affairs  of  life, 
and  to  do  so  in  matters  of  infinitely  higher  importance  would 
be  the  highest  presumption  and  folly. 

This  section  next  states  more  particularly  the  means  by 
which  the  elect  are  brought  to  glory.  They  are  redeemed 
by  Christ,  and  his  redemption  is  effectually  applied  to  them 
by  the  working  of  his  Spirit.  In  order  to  determine  the  im- 
port of  the  phrase  "  redeemed  by  Christ,"  it  is  necessary  to 
ascertain  in  what  sense  the  word  redeemed  is  here  used.  The 
term  redemption  in  Scripture  frequently  signifies  actual  deli- 
verance from  sin  and  all  its  penal  consequences  ;  but  primarily 
and  properly  it  means  a  deliverance  effected  by  the  payment 
of  a  ransom.  Hence,  theologians  have  usually  distinguished 
between  redemption  by  price,  and  redemption  by  power ;  the 
latter  coincides  with  actual  delkerance;  the  former  denotes  the 
payment  of  the  price,  by  which  Christ  meritoriously  procured 
the  deliverance  of  his  people.  When  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession was  compiled,  the  term  redemption  was  generally 
used  as  almost  exactly  equivalent  to  the  modern  term  atone- 
ment ;  and,  of  course,  what  was  then  called  general  and 
particular  redemption,  corresponds  to  the  modern  phrases, 
general  and  limited  atonement.  Some  have  contended  that 
in  this  section  the  term  redemption  is  equivalent,  not  to  the 
payment  of  a  price,  but  to  the  deliverance  obtained  through 
the  payment  of  a  price  ;  or,  that  the  word  redeemed  is  used  as 
equivalent  to  saved.  But  the  section  clearly  distinguishes 
between  the  elect  being  redeemed,  and  their  being  saved ; 
and  it  represents  their  redemption  by  Christ  as  being  effected 
and  completed  previous  to  their  being  effectually  called  unto 
faith  in  Christ.  Their  justification,  adoption,  sanctification, 
and  final  salvation,  are  just  the  blessings  which  constitute 
the  deliverance  obtained  for  them  through  the  death  of 
Christ ;  and,  therefore,  their  redemption  by  Christ  must  sig- 
nify, not  the  deliverance  itself,  but  the  payment  of  the  price 
which  procured  their  deliverance.  Their  redemption  by 
Christ  is  already  complete, — it  was  finished  by  Christ  on  the 
cross ;  but  their  actual  deliverance  is  to  be  effected  in  due 
season, — namely,  when  they  are  united  to  Christ  by  faith. 

In  this  section,  then,  we  are  taught, — 1.  That  Christ,  by 
his  death,  did  not  merely  render  the  salvation  of  all  men 


SECT.  6.]  OF  GOD'S  ETERNAL  DECREE.  5.5 

possible,  or  bring  them  into  a  salvable  state,  but  purchased 
and  secured  a  certain  salvation  to  all  for  whom  he  died. — 
John  xvii.  4;  Heb.  iv.  12.  2.  That  Christ  died  exclusively 
for  the  elect,  and  purchased  redemption  for  them  alone ;  in 
other  words,  that  Christ  made  atonement  only  for  the  elect, 
and  that  in  no  sense  did  he  die  for  the  rest  of  the  race.  Our 
Confession  first  asserts,  positively,  that  the  elect  are  redeemed  by 
Christ',  and  then,  negatively,  that  none  other  are  redeemed  by 
Christ  but  the  elect  only.  If  this  does  not  affirm  the  doctrine  of 
particular  redemption,  or  of  a  limited  atonement,  we  know 
not  what  language  could  express  that  doctrine  more  expli- 
citly. It  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  system  of  the  Armi- 
nians,  who  hold,  "  that  Jesus  Christ,  by  his  death  and  suf- 
ferings, made  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind  in 
general,  and  of  every  individual  in  particular."  It  is  not  less 
opposed  to  the  doctrine  maintained  by  many,  that  though  the 
death  of  Christ  had  a  special  reference  to  the  elect,  and,  in 
connection  with  the  divine  purpose,  infallibly  secures  their 
salvation,  yet  that  it  has  also  a  general  reference,  and  made 
an  equal  atonement  for  all  men.  The  celebrated  Richard 
Baxter,  who  favoured  general  redemption,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing remark  upon  this  and  another  section  of  our  Confes- 
sion : — "  Chap.  iii.  sec.  6,  and  chap.  viii.  sec.  8,  which  speak 
against  universal  redemption,  I  understand  not  of  all  redemp- 
tion, and  particularly  not  of  the  mere  bearing  the  punishment 
of  man's  sins,  and  satisfying  God's  justice,  but  of  that  special 
redemption  proper  to  the  elect,  which  was  accompanied  with 
an  intention  of  actual  application  of  the  saving  benefits  in 
time.  If  I  may  not  be  allowed  this  interpretation,  I  must 
herein  dissent."*  The  language  of  the  Confession,  in  my 
opinion,  will  not  admit  of  this  interpretation ;  and,  what  is 
more,  the  Bible  is  silent  about  this  general  redemption,  or 
the  general  reference  of  the  death  of  Christ.  The  Saviour 
himself  declares,  "  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep ; "  and 
he  affirms  that  the  sheep  for  whom  he  laid  down  his  life  are 
the  definite  number  chosen  by  God,  and  given  to  him  in  the 
eternal  covenant,  and  to  whom  he  will  eventually  give  eter- 
nal life. — John  x.  15,  28,  29.  "It  is  true,  the  Christian  reli- 
gion being  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Jewish  in  this  main 
point,  that  whereas  the  Jewish  was  restrained  to  Abraham's 
posterity,  and  confined  within  one  race  and  nation,  the 
Christian  was  to  be  preached  to  every  creature,  universal 
words  are  used  concerning  the  death  of  Christ ;  but  as  the 
words,  *  preaching  to  every  creature,'  and  to  '  all  the  world,' 
are  not  to  be  understood  in  the  utmost  extent, — for  then  they 
,  *  Baxter's  Confession  of  his  Faith,  p.  21. 


56  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £CHAP.  III. 

have  never  been  verified,  since  the  gospel  has  never  yet,  for 
aught  that  appears  to  us,  been  preached  to  every  nation  un- 
der heaven, — but  are  only  to  be  explained  generally  of  a 
commission  not  limited  to  one  or  more  nations,  none  being 
excluded  from  it ;  the  apostles  were  to  execute  it,  in  going 
from  city  to  city,  as  they  should  be  inwardly  moved  to  it 
by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  so  '  Calvinists  '  think,  that  those  large 
words  that  are  applied  to  the  death  of  Christ,  are  to  be  un- 
derstood in  the  same  qualified  manner  ;  that  no  nation,  or 
sort  of  men,  are  excluded  from  it,  and  that  some  of  all  kinds 
and  sorts  shall  be  saved  by  him.  And  this  is  to  be  carried 
no  further,  without  an  imputation  on  the  justice  of  God  ;  for 
if  he  has  received  a  sufficient  oblation  and  satisfaction  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  it  is  not  reconcileable  to  justice, 
that  all  should  not  be  saved  by  it,  or  should  not  at  least  have 
the  offer  and  promulgation  of  it  made  them ;  that  so  a  trial 
may  be  made,  whether  they  will  accept  of  it  or  not."  * 

3.  We  are  further  taught,  that  salvation  shall  be  effectually 
applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  all  those  who  were  chosen  of 
God,  and  redeemed  by  Christ ;  and  that  it  shall  be  effectually 
applied  to  them  alone.  The  elect  are  all  in  due  time,  by  the 
power  of  the  Spirit,  effectually  called  unto  faith  in  Christ. 
"  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me." — John 
vi.  37.  "  As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life  believed." 
— Acts  xiii.  48.  They  are  all  justified,  adopted,  sanctified, 
and  shall  be  enabled  to  persevere  in  grace,  and  at  length 
their  salvation  shall  be  consummated  in  glory.  "  Whom  he 
did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  ;  and  whom  he  called, 
them  he  also  justified  ;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also 
glorified." — Rom.  viii.  30. 

Thus  our  Confession,  agreeably  to  Scripture,  represents 
each  of  the  divine  persons  as  acting  a  distinct  part  in  the 
glorious  work  of  human  redemption,  and  as  entirely  concur- 
ring in  counsel  and  operation.  The  Father  chose  a  definite 
number  of  mankind  sinners  to  eternal  life  ;  the  Son  laid 
down  his  life  for  those  who  were  chosen  in  him  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  and  obtained  for  them  eternal 
redemption  ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit  applies  the  purchased  re- 
demption to  them  in  due  season.  Here  all  is  perfect  har- 
mony. The  Son  fulfils  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  the  Spirit's 
work  is  in  entire  accordance  with  the  purpose  of  the  Father 
and  the  mediation  of  the  Son.  But  according  to  the  scheme 
of  general  redemption,  or  of  universal  atonement,  this  har- 
mony is  utterly  destroyed.  The  Son  sheds  his  blood  for 
multitudes  whom  the  Father  never  purposed  to  save,  and  the 
•  Burnet  on  the  Thirty- Nine  Articles,  Art.  17. 


SECT.  7.]         op  god's  eternal  decree.  57 

Spirit  does  not  put  forth  the  influence  necessary  to  secure 
the  application  of  salvation  to  all  for  whom  Christ  died  ! 

Section  VII. — The  rest  of  mankind,  God  was  pleased, 
according  to  the  unsearchable  counsel  of  his  own  will, 
whereby  he  extendeth  or  withholdeth  mercy  as  he 
pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his  sovereign  power  over  his 
creatures,  to  pass  by,  and  to  ordain  them  to  dishonour 
and  wrath  for  their  sin,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious 
justice.17 

17  Matt.  xi.  25,  26.     Rom.  ix.  17,  18,  21,  22.    2  Tim.  ii.'19,  20.     Jude  4. 
1  Pet.  ii.  8. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  describes  what  is  usually  called  the  decree  of 
reprobation.  This  term  is  not  used  in  the  Confession,  and 
when  it  occurs  in  Scripture,  bears  a  different  sense  from  the 
theological ;  but  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  it  is  used  to  ex- 
press that  act  of  God's  will  by  which,  when  he  viewed  all  man- 
kind as  involved  in  guilt  and  misery,  he  rejected  some,  while 
he  chose  others.  Some  who  allow  of  personal  and  eternal 
election,  deny  any  such  thing  as  reprobation.  But  the  one 
unavoidably  follows  from  the  other  ;  for  the  choice  of  some 
must  necessarily  imply  the  rejection  of  others.  "Election 
and  rejection  are  co-relative  terms  ;  and  men  impose  upon 
themselves,  and  imagine  that  they  conceive  what  it  is  impos- 
sible to  conceive,  when  they  admit  election  and  deny  repro- 
bation. .  .  .  There  are  many  passages  of  Scripture  in  which 
this  doctrine  is  taught.  We  read  of  some  whose  names  are 
'  not  written,'  and  who,  consequently,  are  opposed  to  those 
whose  names  are  written,  '  in  the  Book  of  Life  ; '  who  are 
*  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction  ;'  who  were  '  before  of 
old  ordained  to  condemnation  ; '  who  '  stumble  at  the  Word, 
being  disobedient,  whereunto  also  they  were  appointed  f  of 
persons  whom  God  is  said  to  hate,  while  others  he  loves.  Let 
any  man  carefully  and  dispassionately  read  the  9th  and  the 
11th  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  he  will 
entertain  no  more  doubt  that  some  are  ordained  to  death, 
than  that  others  are  ordained  to  life."  * 

Our  Confession  speaks  of  God's  passing  by  some,  and  also 
ordaining  them  to  wrath  ;  and  we  apprehend  there  is  an 
important  distinction  betwixt  the  two.  If  the  reason  be  in- 
quired why  God  passed  by  some  of  mankind  sinners,  while  he 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  197..198. 


58  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  III. 

elected  others  to  life,  it  must  be  resolved  into  the  counsel  of 
his  own  will,  whereby  he  extends  or  withholds  mercy  as  he 
pleases.  No  doubt  those  whom  God  passed  by  were  con- 
sidered as  fallen  and  guilty  creatures  ;  but  if  there  was  sin 
in  them,  there  was  sin  also  in  those  who  were  chosen  to 
salvation  ;  we  must,  therefore,  resolve  their  opposite  allotment 
into  the  will  of  God:  "  He  hath  mercy  upon  whom  he  will 
have  mercy,  and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth." — Rom.  ix.  18. 
As  it  would  have  been  just  in  God  to  pass  by  the  whole  of 
our  race,  and  to  deal  with  them  as  he  did  with  the  angels 
who  sinned,  it  must  be  manifest  that,  in  electing  some  to  life, 
he  did  no  injustice  to  the  non-elect,  whose  case  would  have 
been  just  as  bad  as  it  is,  even  supposing  the  others  had  not 
been  chosen  at  all.  But  if  the  reason  be  inquired  why  God 
ordained  to  dishonour  and  wrath  those  whom  he  passed  by,  this 
must  be  resolved  into  their  own  sin.  In  this  act  God  appears 
as  a  judge,  fixing  beforehand  the  punishment  of  the  guilty ; 
and  his  decree  is  only  a  purpose  of  acting  towards  them 
according  to  the  natural  course  of  justice.  Their  own  sin  is 
the  procuring  cause  of  their  final  ruin,  and  therefore  God 
does  them  no  wrong.  The  salvation  of  the  elect  is  wholly 
"  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace,"  and  the  condemnation 
of  the  non-elect  is  "  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice  " 

Section  VIII. — The  doctrine  of  this  high  mystery  of 
predestination  is  to  be  handled  "with  special  prudence 
and  care,18  that  men  attending  the  will  of  God  revealed 
in  his  Word,  and  yielding  obedience  thereunto,  may, 
from  the  certainty  of  their  effectual  vocation,  be  assured 
of  their  eternal  election.19  So  shall  this  doctrine  afford 
matter  of  praise,  reverence,  and  admiration  of  God,20 
and  of  humility,  diligence,  and  abundant  consolation, 
to  all  that  sincerely  obey  the  gospel.21 

is  Rom.  ix.  20;  xi.  33.     Deut.  xxix.  |  20  Eph.  i.  6,     Rom.  xi.  33. 

29.  21    Rom.    xi.  5,  6,   20.    2   Pet.  i.  10. 

i»   2  Pet.  i.  10.  Rom.  viii.  33.    Luke  x.  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  doctrine  of  predestination  is,  indeed,  a  high  mystery 
— one  of  the  deep  things  of  God,  which  our  feeble  intellects 
cannot  fully  comprehend.  In  our  inquiries  about  it,  we 
ought  to  repress  a  vain  curiosity,  and  not  attempt  to  be  wise 
above  what  is  written.  But,  since  the  doctrine  is  revealed  by 
God  in  his  Word,  it  is  a  proper  subject  for  sober  investigation, 


SECT.  8.]  OF  GOD'S  ETERNAL  DECREE.  59 

and  ought  to  be  published  from  the  pulpit  aud  the  press. 
Calvin  justly  remarks,  "  That  those  things  which  the  Lord 
hath  laid  up  in  secret,  we  may  not  search;  those  things 
which  he  hath  brought  openly  abroad,  we  may  not  neglect; 
lest  either  on  the  one  part  we  be  condemned  of  vain  curio- 
sity, or  on  the  other  part,  of  unthankfulness."  Were  this 
doctrine  either  dangerous  or  useless,  God  would  not  have 
revealed  it;  and  for  men  to  attempt  to  suppress  it,  is  to 
arraign  the  wisdom  of  God,  as  though  he  foresaw  not  the 
danger  which  they  would  arrogantly  interpose  to  prevent. 
"  Whosoever,"  adds  Calvin,  "  laboureth  to  bring  the  doctrine 
of  predestination  into  misliking,  he  openly  saith  evil  of  God; 
as  though  somewhat  had  unadvisedly  slipped  from  him  which 
is  hurtful  to  the  Church."*  This  doctrine,  however,  ought  to 
be  handled  with  special  judgment  and  prudence,  avoiding 
human  speculations,  and  adhering  to  what  is  plainly  revealed 
in  the  Scriptures.  When  prudently  discussed,  it  will  neither 
lead  to  licentiousness  nor  to  despair;  but  will  eminently  con- 
duce to  the  knowledge,  establishment,  and  comfort  of  Chris- 
tians. 

It  ought  ever  to  be  remembered,  that  no  man  can  know  his 
election  prior  to  his  conversion.  Wherefore,  instead  of  pry- 
ing into  the  secret  purpose  of  God,  he  ought  to  attend  to  his 
revealed  will,  that  by  making  sure  his  vocation,  he  may  as- 
certain his  election.  The  order  and  method  in  which  this 
knowledge  may  be  attained  is  pointed  out  by  the  Apostle 
Peter,  when  he  exhorts  Christians  to  "  give  all  diligence  to 
make  their  calling  and  election  sure." — 2  Pet.  i.  10.  Their 
eternal  election  must  remain  a  profound  secret  until  it  be 
discovered  to  them  by  their  effectual  calling  in  time  ;  but 
when  they  have  ascertained  their  calling,  they  may  thence 
infallibly  conclude  that  they  were  elected  from  eternity. 
Election,  then,  gives  no  discouragement  to  any  man  in  refe- 
rence to  obeying  the  calls  and  embracing  the  offers  of  the 
gospel.  The  invitations  of  the  gospel  are  not  addressed  to 
men  as  elect,  but  as  sinners  ready  to  perish;  all  are  under  the 
same  obligation  to  comply  with  these  invitations,  and  the 
encouragement  from  Christ  is  the  same  to  all, — "  Him  that 
cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  And  the  doctrine 
of  election  must  have  a  sanctifying  and  consoling  influence 
on  all  who  sincerely  obey  the  gospel.  It  is  calculated  to  in- 
spire them  with  sentiments  of  reverence  and  gratitude  to- 
wards God;  to  humble  their  souls  in  the  dust  before  the 
eternal  Sovereign;  to  excite  them  to  diligence  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duty;  to  afford  them  strong  consolation  under  the 
*  Calvin's  Institutions,  book  iii..  ch.  21,  sec.  4. 


60  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  IV. 

temptations  and  trials  of  life  j  and  to  animate  them  with  a 
lively  hope  of  eternal  glory. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  CREATION. 

Section  I. — It  pleased  God  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,1  for  the  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  his 
eternal  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,2  in  the  beginning, 
to  create,  or  make  of  nothing,  the  world,  and  all  things 
therein,  whether  visible  or  invisible,  in  the  space  of  six 
days,  and  all  very  good.3 

1  Heb.  i.  2.    John  i.  2,  3.     Gen.  i.  2.  I  -  Rom.   i.   20.    Jer.  x.  12.    Ps.  civ. 
Job  xxvi.  13 ;  xxxiii.  4.  24  ;  xxxiii.  5,  6. 

3  Gen.  i.  1  to  end.    Heb.  xi.  3.     Col.  i.  16.     Acts  xvii.  24. 

EXPOSITION. 

By  the  word  creation  we  are  to  understand  the  production 
and  formation  of  all  things.  I  use  two  words,  because  crea- 
tion is  twofold, — primary  and  secondary,  or  immediate  and 
mediate.  By  the  former,  is  meant  the  production  of  some- 
thing out  of  nothing ;  by  the  latter,  the  formation  of  things 
out  of  pre-existing  matter,  but  matter  naturally  indisposed 
for  such  productions,  and  which  never  could  by  any  power 
of  second  causes  have  been  brought  into  such  a  form.  This 
section  teaches  us  : — 

1.  That  the  world  had  a  beginning.  This  will  now  be  con- 
sidered one  of  the  most  obvious  truths  that  can  be  stated, 
but  it  is  one  that  required  to  be  confirmed  hy  divine  revela- 
tion. That  the  world  existed  from  eternity  was  generally 
maintained  by  the  ancient  heathen  philosophers.  Some  of 
them  held,  that  not  only  the  matter  of  which  the  world  is 
framed  existed  from  eternity,  but  that  it  subsisted  in  that 
beautiful  form  in  which  we  behold  it.  Others  admitted  that 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  had  a  beginning  in  respect  of  their 
present  form,  but  maintained  the  eternity  of  the  matter  of 
which  they  are  composed.  That  the  world  had  a  beginning 
is  the  uniform  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures — Gen.  i.  1  ;  Ps.  xc. 
2.    This  is  implied  in  the  phrases,  "  before  the  foundation 


SECT.  1.]  OP  CREATION.  61 

of  the  world,"   "before    the    world    began." — Eph.  i.   4: 
2  Tim.  i.  9. 

According  to  the  generally  received  chronology,  the  Mosaic 
creation  took  place  4004  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
If,  indeed,  the  accounts  of  the  Egyptians,  Hindoos,  and 
Chinese,  were  to  be  credited,  we  should  believe  that  the 
universe  has  existed,  in  its  present  form,  for  many  millions  of 
years  ;  but  these  accounts  have  been  satisfactorily  proved  to 
be  false.  And  as  a  strong  presumption  that  the  world  has  not 
yet  existed  6000  years,  it  has  been  often  remarked  that  the 
invention  of  arts,  and  the  erection  of  the  earliest  empires,  are 
of  no  great  antiquity,  and  can  be  traced  back  to  their  origin. 

2.  That  creation  is  the  work  of  God.  Often  does  God 
claim  this  woi-k  as  one  of  the  peculiar  glories  of  his  Deity,  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  others. — Is.  xliv.  24,  xlv.  12.  The  work 
of  creation,  however,  is  common  to  all  the  three  persons  of 
the  Trinity.  It  is  ascribed  to  the  Father, — 1  Cor.  viii.  6;  to 
the  Son, — John  i.  3;  to  the  Holy  Ghost. — Gen.  i.  2;  Job  xxvi. 
13.  All  the  three  persons  are  one  God.  We  must  not, 
therefore,  suppose  that  in  creation  the  Father  is  the  principal 
agent,  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  inferior  agents,  or 
mere  instruments.  In  all  external  works  of  Deity,  each  of 
the  persons  of  the  Godhead  equally  concur. 

3.  That  creation  extends  to  "the  world,  and  all  things 
therein,  whether  visible  or  invisible."  This  is  expressly 
declared  in  many  passages  of  Scripture  :  "  God  made  the 
world,  and  all  things  therein." — Acts  xvii.  24.  "  By  him 
were  all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in 
earth,  visible  and  invisible." — Col.  i.  16.  This  certainly  in- 
cludes angels.  We  have  no  reason  to  think  that  their  crea- 
tion preceded  the  period  of  the  Mosaic  creation;  and  they 
are  generally  supposed  to  have  been  created  on  the  first  day. 

4.  That  the  world,  and  all  things  therein,  were  created 
"  in  the  space  of  six  days."  This,  also,  is  the  express  lan- 
guage of  Scripture  :  "  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven 
and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is." — Ex.  xx.  11. 
The  modern  discoveries  of  geologists  have  led  them  to  assign 
an  earlier  origin  to  the  materials  of  which  our  globe  is  com- 
posed than  the  period  of  the  six  days,  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  the  Mosaic  creation  ;  and  various  theories  have 
been  adopted  in  order  to  reconcile  the  geological  and  Mosaic 
records.  Some  have  held  that  all  the  changes  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  materials  of  the  earth  occurred  either 
during  the  six  days  of  the  Mosaic  creation,  or  since  that 
period  ;  but,  it  is  urged,  that  the  facts  which  geology  esta- 
blishes prove  this  view  to  be  utterly  untenable.     Others  have 


62  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  |[CHAP.  IV. 

held  that  a  day  of  creation  was  not  a  natural  day,  composed 
of  twenty-four  hours,  but  a  period  of  an  indefinite  length. 
To  this  it  has  been  objected,  that  the  sacred  historian,  as  if 
to  guard  against  such  a  latitude  of  interpretation,  distinctly 
and  pointedly  declares  of  all  the  days,  that  each  of  them  had 
its  "  evening  and  morning," — thus,  it  should  seem,  expressly 
excluding  any  interpretation  which  does  not  imply  a  natural 
day.  Others  hold  that  the  materials  of  our  globe  were  in 
existence,  and  under  the  active  operation  of  creative  powers, 
for  an  indefinite  period  before  the  creation  of  man;  and  that 
the  inspired  record,  while  it  gives  us  no  information  respect- 
ing the  pre-existing  condition  of  the  earth,  leaves  ample 
room  for  a  belief  that  it  did  pre-exist,  if  from  any  other 
source  traces  of  this  should  be  discovered  by  human  research. 
The  first  verse  of  the  1st  chapter  of  Genesis,  in  their  opinion, 
merely  asserts  that  the  matter  of  which  the  universe  is  com- 
posed was  produced  out  of  nothing  by  the  power  of  the 
Almighty,  but  leaves  the  time  altogether  indefinite.  The 
subsequent  verses  of  that  chapter  give  an  account  of  the 
successive  process  by  which  the  Eternal,  in  the  space  of  six 
days,  reduced  the  pre-existing  matter  to  its  present  form, 
and  gave  being  to  the  plants  and  animals  now  in  existence. 
This  explanation,  which  leaves  room  for  a  long  succession  of 
geological  events  before  the  creation  of  the  existing  races, 
seems  now  to  be  the  generally  received  mode  of  reconciling 
geological  discoveries  with  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
creation.* 

5.  That  all  things  were  created  very  good.  Everything 
was  good  ;  for  it  was  agreeable  to  the  model  which  the  great 
Architect  had  formed  in  his  infinite  mind  from  everlasting  ; 
it  answered  exactly  the  end  of  its  creation,  and  was  adapted 
to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed. 

6.  That  God  made  all  things  for  the  manifestation  of  his 
oicn  glory.  "  The  Lord  hath  made  all  things  for  himself,"  for 
the  manifestation  of  his  infinite  perfections  ;  and  all  his 
works  proclaim  his  almighty  power,  his  unbounded  goodness, 
and  his  unsearchable  wisdom.  His  glory  shines  in  every 
part  of  the  material  universe  ;  but  it  would  have  shined  in 
vain,  if  there  had  been  no  creature  to  contemplate  it  with  an 
eye  of  intelligence,  and  celebrate  the  praises  of  the  omnipo- 
tent Creator.  Man,  therefore,  was  introduced  into  the  habi- 
tation which  had  been  prepared  for  him,  and  of  his  creation 
the  next  section  gives  an  account. 

*  The  geological  opinions  of  M.  Agassiz  are  consistent  with  this  explana- 
tion. See  also  Candlish  on  Genesis,  i.  20,  and  Dr  Duncan's  (of  RuthwelP 
Geological  Lecture  10  Young  Men.    Glasgow,  1842. 


SECT.  2.]  OP  CREATION.  63 

Section  II. — After  God  had  made  all  other  creatures, 
he  created  man,  male  and  female,4  with  reasonable  and 
immortal  souls,5  endued  with  knowledge,,  righteousness, 
and  true  holiness,  after  his  own  image,6  having  the  law 
of  God  written  in  their  hearts,7  and  power  to  fulfil  it; 8 
and  yet  under  a  possibility  of  transgressing,  being  left  to 
the  liberty  of  their  own  will,  which  was  subject  unto 
change.9  Beside  this  law  written  in  their  hearts,  they 
received  a  command  not  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  the  know- 
ledge of  good  and  evil; 10  which  while  they  kept,  they 
were  happy  in  their  communion  with  God,  and  had 
dominion  over  the  creatures.11 

4  Gen.  i.  27.  I    8  Eccl.  vii.  29. 

5  Gen.  ii.  7.      Ecc   xii.  7.      Luke      9  Gen.  iii.  6.     Eccl.  vii.  29. 

xxiii.  43.     Matt.  x.  28.  |  10  Gen.  ii.  17  ;  iii.  8-11,  23. 

6  Gen.  i.  26.    Col.  iii.  10.   Eph.  iv.24.  I  ll  Gen.  i.  26,  28. 

7  Rom.  ii.  14,  15. 

EXP3STTI0N. 

Man  was  formed  after  God  had  made  all  other  creatures  ; 
and  this  strongly  marks  the  dignity  of  his  character,  and  the 
exuberant  bounty  of  his  Creator.  Before  he  was  brought 
into  existence,  the  earth,  which  was  designed  for  his  tem- 
porary residence,  was  completely  prepared,  and  amply  fur- 
nished for  his  reception.  God  created  man,  male  andfemale, — 
one  man  and  one  woman, — man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  ground, 
and  woman  out  of  a  rib  taken  from  man's  side.  It  should 
seem  that  of  the  rest  of  the  creatures  God  made  many  couples, 
but  of  man  he  made  only  one  ;  and  from  this  Christ  brings 
an  argument  against  divorce. — Mai.  ii.  15  ;  Matt.  xix.  4,  5. 
Man  is  a  compound  existence,  made  up  of  two  great  parts, 
a  soul  and  a  body.  His  body,  though  formed  of  mean  mate- 
rials, is  apiece  of  exquisite  workmanship  ;  but  his  soul  is  the 
noblest  part  of  his  nature.  By  his  soul  he  is  allied  to  God 
and  angels ;  by  his  body,  to  the  beasts  that  perish,  and  to  the 
dust  under  his  feet. 

Man  was  originally  created  after  the  image  of  God.  This 
could  not  consist  in  a  participation  of  the  divine  essence  ; 
for  that  is  incommunicable  to  any  creature.  Neither  did  it 
consist  in  his  external  form ;  for  God,  having  no  bodily  parts, 
could  not  be  represented  by  any  material  resemblance.  The 
image  of  God  consisted  partly  in  the  spirituality  of  the  soul 
of  man.  God  is  a  spirit, — an  immaterial  and  immortal  being. 
The  soul  of  man  also  is  a  spirit,  though  infinitely  inferior  to 


64  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  IV. 

the  Father  of  spirits.  Thus,  in  immateriality  and  immor- 
tality the  soul  of  man  bears  a  resemblance  to  God.  The 
image  of  God  in  man  likewise  consisted  in  the  dominion 
assigned  to  him  over  the  creatures,  in  respect  of  which  he 
was  the  representative  and  vicegerent  of  God  upon  earth. 
God  is  the  blessed  and  only  potentate,  and  he  gave  to  man  a 
delegated  sovereignty  over  the  inferior  creatures.  He  was 
constituted  the  ruler  of  this  lower  world,  and  all  the  creatures 
were  inspired  with  respect  for  him,  and  submitted  to  his 
government.  But  the  image  of  God  in  man  principally  con- 
sisted in  his  conformity  to  the  moral  perfections  of  God,  or 
in  the  complete  rectitude  of  his  nature.  From  two  passages 
in  the  New  Testament,  it  appears  that  the  image  of  God, 
after  which  man  was  at  first  created,  and  to  which  he  is 
restored  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  consists.in  knowledge,  righteous- 
ness, and  holiness. — Eph.  iv.  24 ;  Col.  iii.  10.  Man  had 
knowledge  in  his  understanding,  righteousness  in  his  will, 
and  holiness  in  his  affections.  His  understanding  was  illu- 
minated with  all  necessary  knowledge.  He  knew  God  and 
his  will ;  he  knew  himself,  his  relations  to  God,  his  duty  to 
him,  and  his  dependence  upon  him.  That  he  had  also  an 
extensive  and  accurate  knowledge  of  natural  objects,  may 
be  inferred  from  his  giving  distinctive  names  to  the  inferior 
creatures  when  they  passed  in  review  before  him.  His  will 
was  in  conformity  to  the  will  of  God.  As  he  knew  his  duty, 
so  he  was  fully  disposed  to  the  performance  of  it.  And  his 
affections  were  holy  and  pure  ;  they  were  placed  upon  proper 
objects,  and  exercised  in  a  regular  manner.  There  was  then 
no  need  that  the  moral  law  should  be  written  on  tables  of 
stone,  for  it  was  engraven  on  the  heart  of  man  in  fair  and 
legible  characters.  He  had  likewise  sufficient  ability  to  fulfil 
it ;  but  his  will  was  entirely  free  to  act  according  to  his 
original  light  and  holy  inclinations,  or  to  turn  aside  to  evil. 
Besides  the  natural  law  written  on  the  hearts  of  our  first 
parents,  they  received  a  command  not  to  eat  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  This  prohibition,  with  the 
penalty  annexed,  will  come  under  our  notice  in  a  subsequent 
chapter ;  and  at  present  we  only  remark,  that  while  our 
first  parents  retained  their  original  integrity,  and  obeyed  the 
positive  command  which  God  had  imposed  upon  them,  they 
were  supremely  happy.  The  garden  in  which  they  were 
placed  furnished  them  with  every  external  comfort ;  they 
were  called  to  engage  in  easy  and  delightful  employments  ; 
they  were  exempted  from  the  least  degree  of  languor  and  of 
pain  ;  they  knew  no  guilt ;  they  felt  no  shame  ;  they  were 
strangers  to  fear ;   and  no  angry  passions  disturbed  their 


SECT.  1.] 


OF  PROVIDENCE. 


65 


souls.  But  their  happiness  chiefly  consisted  in  the  favour  of 
God,  and  in  the  intimate  fellowship  with  him  to  which  they 
were  admitted.  What  an  illustrious  creature  was  man  when 
he  came  from  the  hand  of  his  Maker !  but  how  sadly  changed 
now!  "  God  made  man  upright;  but  they  have  sought  out 
many  inventions." 


CHAPTER  V. 


OF  PROVIDENCE. 


Section  I. — God,  the  great  Creator  of  all  things, 
doth  uphold,1  direct,  dispose,  and  govern  all  creatures, 
actions,  and  things,2  from  the  greatest  even  to  the  least,3 
by  his  most  wise  and  holy  providence,4  according  to  his 
infallible  foreknowledge,5  and  the  free  and  immutable 
counsel  of  his  own  will,6  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
wisdom,  power,  justice,  goodness,  and  mercy.7 


1  Heb.  i.  3. 

2  Dan.  iv.  34,  35.    Ps.  cxxxv.  6.  Acts 

xvii.   25,  26,  28.    Job  xxxviii., 
xxxix.,  xl.,  xli. 

3  Matt.  x.  29-31. 

*  Prov.  xv.  3.     Ps.  civ.  24. ;  cxlv.  17. 


Acts  xv.  18.     Ps.  xciv.  8-11. 

Eph.  i.  11.     Ps.  xxxiii.  10,  11. 

Is.  lxiii.  14.      Eph.  iii.  10.     Rom. 

ix.  17.      Gen.  xlv.  7.      Psalm 

cxlv.  7. 


EXPOSITION. 

In  opposition  to  Fatalists  and  others,  who  maintain  that, 
in  the  original  constitution  of  the  universe,  God  gave  to  the 
material  creation  physical,  and  to  the  intelligent  creation 
moral  laws,  by  which  they  are  sustained  and  governed,  in- 
dependently of  his  continued  influence ;  this  section  teaches 
that  there  is  a  providence,  by  which  God,  the  great  Creator 
of  all  things,  upholds  and  governs  them  all ;  and  that  this 
providence  extends  to  all  creatures,  actions,  and  things,  from 
the  greatest  even  to  the  least. 

1.  That  there  is  a  providence  may  be  inferred  from  the 

nature  and  perfections  of  God;  from  the  dependent  nature  of 

the  creatures;  from  the  continued  order  and  harmony  visible 

in  all  parts  of  the  universe;  from  the  remarkable  judgments 

E 


66  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  V. 

that  have  been  inflicted  on  wicked  men,  and  the  signal 
deliverances  that  have  been  granted  to  the  Church  and 
people  of  God;  and  from  the  prediction  of  future  events,  and 
their  exact  fulfilment.  In  the  Bible,  the  providence  of  God 
is  everywhere  asserted.  "  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all," 
and  he  "  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will." 
— Ps.  ciii.  19;  Eph.  i.  11. 

Two  things  are  included  in  the  notion  of  providence, — the 
preservation  and  the  government  of  all  things.  God  preserves 
all  things  by  continuing  or  upholding  them  in  existence. 
The  Scripture  explicitly  asserts,  that  "  he  upholds  all  things 
by  the  word  of  his  power,"  and  that  "  by  him  all  things  con- 
sist."— Heb.  i.  3  ;  Col.  i.  17.  He  preserves  the  different 
species  of  creatures,  and  sustains  the  several  creatures  in 
their  individual  beings;  hence  he  is  called  "  the  Preserver  of 
man  and  beast." — Job.  vii.  20 ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  6.  God  governs 
all  things  by  directing  and  disposing  them  to  the  end  for 
which  he  designed  them.  "  Our  God  is  in  the  heavens,  he 
hath  clone  whatsoever  he  pleased." — Ps.  cxv.  3.  "  He  doeth 
according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  :  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or 
say  unto  him,  "What  doest  thou  ?" — Dan.  iv.  35.  The  govern- 
ment of  God  may  be  considered  in  a  twofold  view, — natural 
and  moral.  This  twofold  view  of  his  government  arises 
from  the  two  general  classes  of  creatures  which  are  the  ob- 
jects of  it.  The  irrational  and  inanimate  creatures  are  the 
subjects  of  his  natural  government.  The  rational  part  of 
the  creation,  or  those  creatures  who  are  the  fit  subjects  of 
moral  law,  as  angels  and  men,  are  the  subjects  of  his  moral 
government. 

2.  The  providence  of  God  extends  to  all  creatures,  actions, 
and  things,  from  the  greatest  even  to  the  least.  "  Some,"  says 
Dr  Dick, "  maintain  only  a  general  providence,  which  consists 
in  upholding  certain  general  laws,  and  exclaim  against  the  idea 
of  a  particular  providence,  which  takes  a  concern  in  indivi- 
duals and  their  affairs.  It  is  strange  that  the  latter  opinion 
should  be  adopted  by  any  person  who  professes  to  bow  to  the 
authority  of  Scripture, — which  declares  that  a  sparrow  does 
not  fall  to  the  ground  without  the  knowledge  of  our  heavenly 
Father,  and  that  the  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  numbered, — or 
by  any  man  who  has  calmly  listened  to  the  dictates  of  reason. 
If  God  has  certain  designs  to  accomplish  with  respect  to,  or 
by  means  of,  his  intelligent  creatures,  I  should  wish  to  know- 
how  his  intention  can  be  fulfilled  without  particular  attention 
to  their  circumstances,  their  movements,  and  all  the  events  of 
their  life  ?  .  .  .  .  How  can  a  whole  be  taken  care  of  without 


SECT.  1.]  OF  PROVIDENCE.  G? 

taking  care  of  its  parts ;  or  a  species  be  preserved  if  the  in- 
dividuals are  neglected  ? " 

The  providence  of  God  extends  to  the  inanimate  creation. 
He  who  fixed  the  laws  of  nature,  still  continues  or  suspends 
their  operation  according  to  his  pleasure;  they  are  dependent 
on  his  continued  influence,  and  subject  to  his  control;  and 
to  assert  the  contrary  would  be  to  assign  to  the  laws  of  nature 
that  independence  which  belongs  to  God  alone. — Ps.  cxix.  91, 
civ.  14  ;  Job  xxxviii.  31-38.  The  providence  of  God  like- 
wise reaches  to  the  whole  animal  creation.  "The  beasts  of 
the  forest  are  his,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills." 
They  are  all  his  creatures,  and  the  subjects  of  his  providence. 
■ — Ps.  civ.  27,  28.  Angels,  too,  are  the  subjects  of  God's  pro- 
vidence. The  good  angels  are  ever  ready  to  obey  his  will, 
and  are  employed  by  him  in  ministering,  in  various  ways,  to 
the  saints  on  earth. — Heb.  i.  14.  The  evil  angels  are  subject 
to  his  control,  and  can  do  no  mischief  without  his  permission. 
— Job.  i.  12.  The  providence  of  God  also  extends  to  all 
human  affairs ;  the  affairs  of  nations  are  under  his  guidance 
and  control.  "He  increaseth  the  nations,  and  destroyeth 
them  :  he  enlargeth  the  nations,  and  straiteneth  them  again. 
He  leadeth  princes  away  spoiled,  and  overthroweth  the 
mighty." — Job  xii.  19,  23.  This  the  humbled  monarch  of 
Babylon  was  taught  by  painful  experience,  and  was  con- 
strained to  acknowledge  "  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will." — 
Dan.  iv.  25.  The  providence  of  God  is  also  to  be  recog- 
nised in  the  affairs  of  families.  "  God  setteth  the  solitary  in 
families," — "  he  setteth  the  poor  on  high  from  affliction,  and 
maketh  him  families  like  a  flock ;  again  they  are  minished 
and  brought  low,  through  oppression,  affliction,  and  sorrow." 
— Ps.  lxviii.  6,  cvii.  39,  41.  The  providence  of  God  likewise 
extends  to  individuals,  and  to  their  minutest  concerns.  The 
birth  of  each  individual,  the  length  of  his  days,  and  all 
the  events  of  his  life,  are  regulated  and  superintended  by 
the  most  wise  and  holy  providence  of  God. — Acts  xvii.  28; 
Job  xiv.  5. 

"  As  the  doctrine  of  a  particular  providence  is  agreeable 
both  to  Scripture  and  to  reason,  so  it  is  recommended  by  its 
obvious  tendency  to  promote  the  piety  and  the  consolation 
of  mankind.  To  a  God  who  governed  the  world  solely  by 
general  laws,  we  might  have  looked  up  with  reverence,  but 
not  with  the  confidence,  and  gratitude,  and  hope,  which  arise 
from  the  belief  that  he  superintends  its  minutest  affairs.  The 
thought  that  he  'compasses  our  paths  and  is  acquainted 
with  all  our  ways;'  that  he  watches  our  steps,  and  orders 


08  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  V. 

all  the  events  in  our  lot ;  guides  and  protects  us,  and  supplies 
our  wants,  as  it  were,  with  his  own  hand  ;  this  thought 
awakens  a  train  of  sentiments  and  feelings  highly  favourable 
to  devotion,  and  sheds  a  cheering  light  upon  the  path  of  life. 
We  consider  him  as  our  Guardian  and  our  Father  ;  and,  re- 
posing upon  his  care,  we  are  assured  that,  if  we  trust  in  him, 
no  evil  shall  befal  us,  and  no  real  blessing  shall  be  with- 
held." * 

Section  II. — Although,  in  relation  to  the  foreknow- 
ledge and  decree  of  God,  the  first  cause,  all  things  come 
to  pass  immutably  and  infallibly;8  yet,  by  the  same 
providence,  he  ordereth  them  to  fall  out  according  to  the 
nature  of  second  causes,  either  necessarily,  freely,  or  con  • 
tingently.9 

8  Acts  ii.  23.  Exodus  xxi.  13.     Deut.  xix.  5. 

9  Genesis  viii.  22.        Jer.  xxxi.  35.   |  1  Kings  xxii.  28,  34.    Is.  x.  6, 7. 

EXPOSITION. 

Since  all  things  were  known  to  God  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  and  come  to  pass  according  to  the  immutable 
counsel  of  his  will,  it  necessarily  follows  that,  in  respect  of 
the  foreknowledge  and  decree  of  God,  all  things  come  to  pass 
infallibly.  But,  by  his  providence,  he  orders  them  to  fall 
out  according  to  the  nature  of  second  causes.  Every  part 
of  the  material  world  has  an  immediate  dependence  on  the 
will  and  power  of  God,  in  respect  of  every  motion  and  opera- 
tion, as  well  as  in  respect  of  continued  existence  ;  but  he 
governs  the  material  world  by  certain  physical  laws, — com- 
monly called  the  laws  of  nature,  and  in  Scripture  the  ordinances 
of  heaven, — and  agreeably  to  these  laws,  so  far  as  relates  to 
second  causes,  certain  effects  uniformly  and  necessarily  follow 
certain  causes.  The  providence  of  God  is  also  concerned 
about  the  volitions  and  actions  of  intelligent  creatures ;  but 
his  providential  influence  is  not  destructive  of  their  rational 
liberty,  for  they  are  under  no  compulsion,  but  act  freely ;  and 
all  the  liberty  which  can  belong  to  rational  creatures,  is 
that  of  acting  according  to  their  inclinations.  Though  there 
is  no  event  contingent  with  respect  to  God,  "who  declareth  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the  things 
which  are  not  yet  done,  saying,  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and 
I  will  do  all  my  pleasure ; "  yet  many  events  are  contingent 
or  accidental  with  regard  to  us,  and  also  with  respect  to 
second  causes. 

*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  ii.,  p.  302. 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  PROVIDENCE.  69 

Section  III. — God  in  his  ordinary  providence  maketh 
use  of  means,10  yet  is  free  to  work  without,11  above,12 
and  against  them,13  at  his  pleasure. 

10  Acts  xxvii.  31,  44.     Is.  lv.  10,  11.  I  1X  Hos.  i.  7.    Matt.  iv.  4.    Job  xxxiv. 
Hos.  ii.  21,  22.  10. 

12  Rom.  iv.  19-21.  1S  2  Kings  vi.  6.    Dan.  iii.  27. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  providence  of  God  is  either  ordinary  or  miraculous. 
In  his  ordinary  providence  God  works  by  means,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  general  laws  established  by  his  own  wisdom  :  we 
are,  therefore,  bound  to  use  the  means  which  he  has  appointed, 
and  if  we  neglect  these,  we  cannot  expect  to  obtain  the  end. 
But  though  God  generally  acts  according  to  established  laws, 
yet  he  may  suspend  or  modify  these  laws  at  pleasure.  And 
when,  by  his  immediate  agency,  an  effect  is  produced  above 
or  beside  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  this  we  denominate 
a  miracle.  The  possibility  of  miracles  will  be  denied  by  none 
but  Atheists.  To  maintain  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  so 
absolutely  fixed,  that  they  can  in  no  case  be  deviated  from, 
would  be  to  exclude  God  from  the  government  of  the  world, 
— to  represent  the  universe  as  a  vast  machine,  whose  move- 
ments are  regulated  by  certain  laws  which  even  the  great 
Architect  cannot  control. 

Section  IV. — The  almighty  power,  unsearchable  wis- 
dom, and  infinite  goodness  of  God,  so  far  manifest 
themselves  in  his  providence,  that  it  extendeth  itself 
even  to  the  first  fall,  and  all  other  sins  of  angels  and 
men,14  and  that  not  by  a  bare  permission,15  but  such  as 
hath  joined  with  it  a  most  wise  and  powerful  bound- 
ing,16 and  otherwise  ordering  and  governing  of  them,  in 
a  manifold  dispensation,  to  his  own  holy  ends ; 17  yet  so 
as  the  sinfulness  thereof  proceedeth  only  from  the  crea- 
ture, and  not  from  God ;  who  being  most  holy  and 
righteous,  neither  is  nor  can  be  the  author  or  approver 
of  sin.18 

14  Rom.  xi.  32-34.    2  Sam.  xxiv.  1.  I  15  Acts  xiv.  16. 

1  Chron.  xxi.  1.     1   Kings  xxii.     16  Ps.  Ixxvi.  10.    2  Kings  xix.  28. 


22,  23.     1   Chron.  x.  4,  13,  14.  |  17  Gen.  1.  20.     Is.  x.  6,  7,  12. 

2  Sam.  xvi.  10.    Acts  ii.  23;  iv.     18  James  i.  13,  14,  17.     1  John  ii.  16. 

27,28.  Ps.  1.  21. 


70  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  V. 


EXPOSITION. 

That  the  providence  of  God  is  concerned  about  the  sinful 
actions  of  creatures  must  be  admitted.  Joseph's  brethren 
committed  a  most  wicked  and  unnatural  action  in  selling 
him  to  the  Midianites;  but  Joseph  thus  addressed  his 
brethren  :  "  Be  not  grieved,  nor  angry  with  yourselves,  that 
ye  sold  me  hither :  for  God  sent  me  before  you  to  preserve 
life." — Gen.  xlv.  5.  The  most  atrocious  crime  ever  perpe- 
trated by  human  hands  was  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  of 
glory;  yet  it  is  expressly  affirmed  that  God  delivered  him 
into  those  wicked  hands  which  were  imbrued  in  his  sacred 
blood:  "Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel 
and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked 
hands  have  crucified  and  slain." — Acts  ii.  23.  At  the  same 
time,  it  is  indisputable  that  God  cannot  be  the  author  nor 
approver  of  sin.  To  solve  the  difficulty  connected  with  this 
point,  theologians  distinguish  between  an  action  and  its 
quality.  The  action,  abstractly  considered,  is  from  God, 
for  no  action  can  be  performed  without  the  concurrence  of 
Providence;  but  the  sinfulness  of  the  action  proceeds  en- 
tirely from  the  creature.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
providence  of  God  is  concerned  about  the  sinful  actions  of 
creatures,  it  is  usually  stated,  that  God  permits  them,  that 
he  limits  them,  and  that  he  overrules  them  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  own  holy  ends.  But  the  full  elucidation 
of  this  abstruse  subject,  so  as  to  remove  every  difficulty, 
surpasses  the  human  faculties.  "We  are  certain  that  God  is 
concerned  in  all  the  actions  of  his  creatures ;  we  are  equally 
certain  that  God  cannot  be  the  author  of  sin ;  and  here  we 
ought  to  rest. 

Section  V. — The  most  wise,  righteous,  and  gracious 
God,  doth  oftentimes  leave  for  a  season  his  own  child- 
ren to  manifold  temptations,  and  the  corruption  of  their 
own  hearts,  to  chastise  them  for  their  former  sins,  or  to 
discover  unto  them  the  hidden  strength  of  corruption, 
and  deceitfulness  of  their  hearts,  that  they  may  be 
humbled; 19  and  to  raise  them  to  a  more  close  and  con- 
stant dependence  for  their  support  upon  himself  ,and  to 
make  them  more  watchful  against  all  future  occasions  of 
sin,  and  for  sundry  other  just  and  holy  ends.20 

19  2  Chron.  xxxii.  25,  26,  31.    2  Sam.  I  20  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9.    Ps.  Ixxiii. ;  lxxvii. 
xxiv.  1.  ),  10,  12.    Mark  xiv.  66,  to  end. 

John  xxi.  15- 17. 


SECT.  5,  6.]  OF  PROVIDENCE.  71 

Section  VI. — As  for  those  wicked  and  ungodly  men 
whom  God,  as  a  righteous  judge,  for  former  sins  doth 
blind  and  harden,21  from  them  he  not  only  withholdeth 
his  grace,  whereby  they  might  have  been  enlightened  in 
their  understandings,  and  wrought  upon  in  their  hearts,22 
but  sometimes  also  withdraweth  the  gifts  which  they 
had,23  and  exposeth  them  to  such  objects  as  their  cor- 
ruption makes  occasion  of  sin,24  and  withal,  gives  them 
over  to  their  own  lusts,  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
and  the  power  of  Satan ; 25  whereby  it  comes  to  pass 
that  they  harden  themselves,  even  under  those  means 
which  God  useth  for  the  softening  of  others.26 

21  Rom.  i.  24,  26,  28;  xi.  7,  8.  I  26  Ex.  vii.  3;  viii.  15,  32.    2  Cor.  ii. 

22  Deut.  xxix.  4.  15,  16.    Is.  viii.  14.     1  Pet.  ii.  7, 

23  Matt.  xiii.  12;  xxv.  29.  8.  Is.  vi.  9,  10.  Acts  xxviii. 
"*  Deut.  ii.  30.     2  Kings  viii.  12, 13.  26,  27. 

25  Ps.  lxxxi.  11,12.  2Thess.ii.lO-12.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

God  cannot  possibly  solicit  or  seduce  any  man  to  sin ;  for 

this  is  inconsistent  with  the  purity  of  his  nature James  i. 

13,  14.  But,  in  righteous  judgment,  God  sometimes  permits 
persons  to  fall  into  one  sin  for  the  punishment  of  another. 
He  deals  in  this  way  even  with  his  own  dear,  but  undutiful, 
children.  Sometimes  he  leaves  them  for  a  season  to  tempta- 
tions, and  to  the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  for  their  trial,  or 
to  discover  to  themselves  the  latent  corruptions  of  their 
hearts,  to  humble  them,  and  to  excite  them  to  more  fervent 
prayer  and  unremitting  watchfulness.  Thus,  God  left  Heze- 
kiah  to  try  him,  that  he  might  know,  or  make  known,  all  that 
was  in  his  heart. — 2  Chron.  xxxii.  31.  Sometimes  God  deals 
in  this  manner  with  his  own  children  to  chastise  them  for 
their  former  sins.  Thus,  "  The  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled 
against  Israel,  and  he  moved  David  against  them  to  say,  Go 
number  Israel  and  Judah." — 2  Sam.  xxiv.  1.  In  Scripture, 
God  is  frequently  said  to  harden  wicked  men  for  their  former 
sins.  This  he  does,  not  by  infusing  any  wickedness  into  their 
hearts,  or  by  any  direct  and  positive  influence  on  their  souls 
in  rendering  them  obdurate,  but  by  withholding  his  grace, 
which  is  necessary  to  soften  their  hearts,  and  which  he  is 
free  to  give  or  withhold  as  he  pleases ;  by  giving  them  over 
to  their  own  hearts'  lusts,  to  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
and  the  power  of  Satan ;  and  by  providentially  placing  them 
in  such  circumstances,  or  presenting  such  objects  before  them, 


72  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  V. 

as  their  corruption  makes  an  occasion  of  hardening  them- 
selves. 

Section  VII — As  the  providence  of  God  doth,  in 
general,  reach  to  all  creatures ;  so,  after  a  most  special 
manner,  it  taketh  care  of  his  Church,  and  disposeth  all 
things  to  the  good  thereof.27 

27  1  Tim.  iv.  10.     Amos  ix.  8,9.     Rom.  viii.  28.    Is.  xliii.  3-5,  14. 
EXPOSITION. 

The  providence  of  God  may  he  considered  as  general  and 
as  special.  His  general  providence  is  exercised  about  all  his 
creatures ;  his  special  providence  is  exercised,  in  a  particular 
manner,  about  his  Church  and  people.  "  The  eyes  of  the 
Lord  run  to  and  fro  throughout  the  whole  earth,  to  show 
himself  strong  in  behalf  of  them  whose  heart  is  perfect  to- 
wards him." — 2  Chron.  xvi.  9.  God  has  the  interests  of  his 
own  people  ever  in  view ;  he  knows  what  is  most  conducive 
to  their  happiness;  and  he  will  make  all  things,  whether 
prosperous  or  adverse,  to  co-operate  in  promoting  their 
good. — Rom.  viii.  28.  In  all  past  ages,  God  has  watched 
over  his  Church  with  peculiar  and  unremitting  care  ;  he  has 
sometimes  permitted  her  to  be  reduced  to  a  very  low  condi- 
tion, but  he  has  also  wrought  surprising  deliverances  in  her 
behalf.  The  very  means  which  her  enemies  intended  for 
her  destruction  and  ruin  have,  by  an  overruling  Providence, 
been  rendered  subservient  to  her  edification  and  enlarge- 
ment.— Acts  viii.  4.  The  preservation  of  the  Church,  in  spite 
of  the  craft  and  malice  of  hell,  and  of  all  the  pernicious 
errors  and  bloody  persecutions  which  have  threatened  her 
ruin,  is  no  less  wonderful  than  the  spectacle  which  Moses 
beheld, — a  bush  burning  but  not  consumed.  And  let  us  still  con- 
fide and  rejoice  in  the  promise  of  Christ,  that  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  never  prevail  against  his  Church. 


SECT.  1.]  OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  73 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN,  OF  SIN,  AND  OF  THE  PUNISHMENT 
THEREOF. 

Section  I. — Our  first  parents  being  seduced  by  the 
subtilty  and  temptation  of  Satan,  sinned  in  eating 
the  forbidden  fruit.1  This  their  sin  God  was  pleased, 
according  to  his  wise  and  holy  counsel,  to  permit,  having 
purposed  to  order  it  to  his  own  glory.2 

1  Gen.  iii.  13.    2  Cor.  xi.  3.  |  «  Rom.  xi.  32. 

EXPOSITION. 

That  man  is  now  in  a  very  corrupt  and  sinful  state,  uni- 
versal experience  and  observation  attest.  That  he  was  not 
originally  formed  in  this  degraded  state  might  be  inferred 
from  the  character  of  his  Maker ;  and  the  Scriptures  expli- 
citly affirm  that  he  was  at  first  created  in  the  image  of  God — 
in  a  state  of  perfect  rectitude.  The  question  then  arises,  How 
was  moral  evil  introduced  into  the  world  ?  To  this  important 
question  reason  can  give  no  satisfactory  answer.  Pagan 
philosophers  could  not  fail  to  observe  the  degeneracy  of 
human  nature ;  mournful  experience  taught  them  that  evil 
had  come  into  the  world ;  but  to  assign  the  source  of  evil, 
was  knowledge  too  wonderful  for  them ;  numerous  were  their 
conjectures,  and  all  remote  from  the  truth.  Divine  revela- 
tion, however,  sets  this  matter  in  a  clear  and  certain  light ; 
and  our  Confession,  in  accordance  with  the  inspired  record, 
traces  the  entrance  of  sin  to  the  seduction  and  disobedience  of 
our  first  parents.  They  "  sinned  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit." 
This  supposes  that  the  fruit  of  a  certain  tree  was  prohibited. 
The  moral  law  was  impressed  upon  the  heart  of  man  at  his 
creation,  and  entire  conformity  to  it  was  his  indispensable 
duty  ;  but,  besides  this  natural  law,  God  was  pleased  to  give 
man  a  positive  law,  restricting  him  from  the  use  of  the  fruit 
of  a  particular  tree  in  the  garden.  "  The  Lord  God  com- 
manded the  man,  saying,  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou 
mayest  freely  eat :  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it." — Gen.  ii.  1 6, 1 7.  Without  loosen- 
ing his  obligation  to  yield  obedience  to  the  whole  moral  law, 
God  summed  up  the  duty  of  man  in  this  single  positive  in- 
junction, and  constituted  his  abstaining  from  the  fruit  of  a 
certain  tree  the  test  of  his  obedience.  The  thing  forbidden  was 


74  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VI. 

in  its  own  nature  quite  indifferent,  neither  good  nor  evil ;  the 
prohibition  was  founded  solely  on  the  sovereign  will  of  God ; 
it  was,  therefore,  a  most  proper  trial  of  man's  obedience  to 
the  divine  authority. 

The  occasion  of  man's  violating  this  express  injunction  of 
his  Sovereign,  was  the  temptation  of  Satan.  The  inspired 
historian,  in  the  3d  chapter  of  Genesis,  makes  mention  only 
of  the  serpent  as  concerned  in  seducing  our  first  parents; 
but  since  we  find  Satan  represented,  in  manifest  allusion  to 
the  transactions  of  the  fall,  as  "  a  murderer  from  the  begin- 
ning," and  as  "  the  old  serpent  and  dragon"  (John  viii.  44  ; 
Rev.  xii.  9,  and  xx.  2),  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
Satan  was  the  real  tempter,  and  that  he  made  use  of  the  literal 
serpent  as  his  instrument  in  carrying  on  the  temptation. 
The  various  methods  of  fraud  and  cunning  whereby  he  con- 
ducted his  plot  are  stated  in  the  sacred  history,  and  have 
been  illustrated  by  many  eloquent  writers.*  It  was  not  by 
force  or  compulsion,  but  only  "  through  his  subtlety  that  the 
serpent  beguiled  Eve."  Seduced  by  the  tempter,  Eve  "  took 
of  the  fruit,  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  husband 
with  her,  and  he  did  eat." — Gen.  iii.  6.  Thus  the  eating  of 
the  forbidden  fruit  was  the  first  sin  actually  committed  by  man 
in  our  world.  No  doubt,  our  first  parents  were  guilty  of  sin 
in  their  hearts,  before  they  committed  it  with  their  hands ; 
but  the  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit  was  the  first  sin  that 
was  finished.  "  When  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth 
sin;  and  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death." — 
James  i.  15. 

To  some  the  eating  of  an  apple  may  appear  a  very  trivial 
matter,  and  often  have  attempts  been  made  to  turn  this  grave 
subject  into  ridicule  ;  but,  in  judging  of  this  act  of  our  first 
parents,  we  must  remember  that  they  thereby  transgressed 
an  express  prohibition  of  the  Most  High.  Their  abstaining 
from  the  tree  of  knowledge  was  the  criterion  by  which  their 
fidelity  was  to  be  tried,  and  their  eating  of  the  fruit  of  that 
tree  was  a  violation  of  the  whole  law;  for  it  was  rebellion 
against  the  Lawgiver,  and  a  renunciation  of  his  authority. 
"  This  grand  transgression,''  says  a  judicious  author,  "  though 
in  its  matter — to  wit,  eating  a  little  fruit — it  may  be  looked 
upon  as  a  most  mean  and  insignificant  action  ;  yet,  if  we 
consider  it  in  its  formal  nature,  as  disobedience  to  an  express 
divine  command,  which  precept  was  particularly  chosen  out 
and  enjoined  as  the  test  of  man's  pure  love,  just  gratitude, 
and  absolute  obedience  to  God,  it  was  certainly  a  most 
heinous  sin.  For  behold  what  monstrous  infidelity,  ingra- 
*  Berry  Street  Sermons,  Serm.  10;  Dwight's  Theology,  Serm.  27. 


SECT.  2.]  OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  15 

titudc,  and  diabolical  pride,  were  all  at  once  implied  in  the 
same."*  "  It  was  aggravated,"  says  another,  "  by  the  Being 
sinned  against, — a  Benefactor  so  bountiful,  a  Master  so  indul- 
gent; by  the  persons  guilty  of  it, — creatures  fresh  from  God's 
hand,  untainted  by  sin,  and  laden  with  benefits;  by  the  pre- 
cept violated, — so  plain  and  simple ;  by  the  place  where  it  was 
committed, — a  place  where  every  plant,  every  creature,  and 
every  scene,  displayed  the  bounty  of  the  Lord,  and  pro- 
claimed bis  goodness;  aud  by  its  results,  which  were  not  to 
be  limited  to  themselves,  but  to  extend  to  their  descendants, 
whom,  for  a  momentary  gratification,  they  ruined  for  ever."+ 
Is  it  asked,  How  could  upright  man  be  seduced  to  commit 
this  great  transgression  ?  The  answer  is,  Man,  though  per- 
fectly holy,  was  mutable.  He  had  power  to  stand,  but  was 
liable  to  fall.  God  left  him  to  the  freedom  of  his  own  will, 
and  that  freedom  he  abused.  No  doubt  God  could  have 
prevented  his  fall  if  he  had  pleased,  by  giving  such  in- 
fluences of  his  Spirit  as  would  have  been  absolutely  effectual 
to  hinder  it;  but  this  he  was  under  no  obligation  to  do.  He 
did  not  withdraw  from  man  that  ability  with  which  he  had 
furnished  him  for  his  duty,  nor  did  he  infuse  any  vicious 
inclinations  into  his  heart, — he  only  withheld  that  further 
grace  that  would  have  infallibly  prevented  his  fall.  If  it  be 
inquired,  Why  God  permitted  the  fall  of  man  to  take  place  ? 
"  Probably  the  best  answer  ever  given  to  this  question  in  the 
present  world,  is  that  which  was  given  by  Christ  concerning 
one  branch  of  the  divine  dispensations  to  mankind  :  '  Even 
so,  Father;  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight.'  It  was  a 
dispensation  approved  by  infinite  wisdom,  and  seen  by  the 
Omniscient  Eye  to  be  necessary  towards  that  good  which 
God  proposed  in  creating  the  universe.''^ 

Section  II. — By  this  sin  they  fell  from  their  original 
righteousness  and  communion  with  God,3  and  so  became 
dead  in  sin,4  and  wholly  defiled  in  all  the  faculties  and 
parts  of  soul  and  body.5 

a  Gen.  iii.  6-8.     Eccl.  vii.  29.     Rom.  I  s  Tit.  i.  15.     Gen.  vi.  5.    Jer.  xvii.  9. 

iii.  23.  Rom.  iii.  10-18. 

*  Gen.  ii.  17.    Eph.  ii.  1.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  points  out  the  consequences  of  the  sin  of  our 
first  parents,  in  regard  to  themselves.     They  "  fell  from  their 

*  Principal  Blackwell's  Sacred  Scheme,  p.  199. 

f  Belfrage's  Exposition  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  toI.  i.,  p.  178. 

j  Dwight's  Theology,  Serm.  27. 


76  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VI, 

original  righteousness,"  and  became  wholly  corrupted  in  all 
the  faculties  of  their  souls  and  members  of  their  bodies.  The 
understanding,  once  a  lamp  of  light,  was  now  overwhelmed 
in  darkness.  The  will,  once  faithful  for  God,  and  regulated 
by  his  will,  now  became  perverse  and  rebellious.  The  affec- 
tions, once  pure  and  regular,  now  became  vitiated  and  dis- 
ordered. The  body,  too,  was  corrupted,  and  its  members 
became  instruments  of  unrighteousness  unto  sin.  Our  first 
parents  likewise  lost  the  happiness  which  they  had  formerly 
possessed.  They  were  expelled  from  that  pleasant  and  de- 
lightful abode  in  which  God  had  placed  them,  the  ground 
was  cursed  with  barrenness  for  their  sake,  they  were  doomed 
to  lead  a  life  of  toil  and  sorrow,  and  at  last  to  return  to  the 
earth  from  which  they  were  taken.  But  this  was  the  least 
part  of  the  misery  into  which  they  fell.  They  lost  commu- 
nion with  God,  the  chief  good;  they  forfeited  his  favour,  and 
incurred  his  righteous  displeasure.  They  became  dead  in  sin 
— obnoxious  to  that  death  which  is  the  wages  of  sin,  and  which 
had  been  threatened  as  the  penalty  of  their  disobedience. 
"  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,"  said  God,  "  thou  shalt  surely 
die."  This  threatening  included  temporal  death,  consisting 
in  the  dissolution  of  the  union  between  the  soul  and  the 
body;  spiritual  death,  consisting  in  the  loss  of  the  favour  and 
the  image  of  God;  and  eternal  death,  consisting  in  the  ever- 
lasting separation  of  both  soul  and  body  from  God.  The 
very  day  in  which  our  first  parents  sinned,  the  sentence  of 
death,  though  not  immediately  executed  in  its  fullest  ex- 
tent, began  to  lay  hold  upon  them.  They  became  mortal,  and 
were  exposed  to  the  disorders  of  a  vitiated  constitution;  the 
principle  of  spiritual  life  was  extinguished  in  their  souls,  and 
they  were  bound  over  to  eternal  wrath;  and,  had  not  a 
Mediator  been  provided,  not  only  would  they  have  returned 
to  the  dust,  but  they  would  have  been  "  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from 
the  glory  of  his  power." 

Section  III. — They  being  the  root  of  all  mankind, 
the  guilt  of  this  sin  was  imputed,6  and  the  same  death 
in  sin  and  corrupted  nature  conveyed,  to  all  their  poste- 
rity, descending  from  them  by  ordinary  generation.7 

Section  IV. — From  this  original  corruption,  whereby 
we  are  utterly  indisposed,  disabled,  and  made  opposite 

«  Gen',  i.  27,  28;  ii.  16,  17.     Acts  xvii.  1  *  Ps.  li.  5.     Gen.  v.  3.    Job  xiv.  4; 
26.     Rom.  v.  12,  15-19.    1  Cor.  |  xv.  14. 

xv.  21,  22,  45,  49. 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  77 

to  all  good,8  and  wholly  inclined  to  all  evil,9  do  proceed 
all  actual  transgressions.10 

8  Rom.  v.  6;  viii.  7 ;   vii.  18.      Col.  I  10  James  i.    14,   15.      Eph.  ii.  2,  3. 

i.  21.  Matt.  xv.  19. 

9  Gen.  vi.  5  ;  viii.  21.    Rom.  iii.  10-12.  | 


EXPOSITION. 

These  sections  point  out  the  consequences  of  the  sin  of  our 
first  parents  in  regard  to  their  posterity.  These  consequences 
are  restricted  to  those  "  descending  from  them  by  ordinary 
generation."  This  restriction  is  obviously  introduced  in  order 
to  exclude  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who,  as  man,  was  one  of 
the  posterity  of  Adam,  but  did  not  descend  from  him  by  ordi- 
nary generation.  The  genealogy  of  Christ  is  traced  up  to 
Adam  (Luke  iii.  38),  but  his  human  nature  was  supernatu- 
rally  framed  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. — Luke  i.  35.  In  his  birth,  therefore,  as  well  as 
in  his  life,  he  was  "  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separated 
from  sinners."  But  the  effects  of  Adam's  first  transgression 
extend  to  all  his  natural  posterity ;  and,  according  to  our  Con- 
fession, the  guilt  of  this  sin  is  imputed,  and  a  corrupt  nature 
is  conveyed,  to  them.  This  is  what  is  commonly  called  Ori- 
ginal Sin.  Though  that  phrase  is  often  restricted  to  the 
corruption  of  nature  derived  to  us  from  Adam,  yet,  in  its 
proper  latitude,  it  includes  also  the  imputation  of  guilt. 

The  doctrine  of  original  sin  was  universally  received  by 
the  Church  of  God  until  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century, 
when  it  was  denied  by  Pelagius.  He  maintained  "  that  the 
sins  of  our  first  parents  were  imputed  to  them  alone,  and  not 
to  their  posterity;  that  we  derive  no  corruption  from  their  fall, 
but  are  born  as  pure  and  unspotted  as  Adam  came  out  of  the 
forming  hand  of  his  Creator."  *  This  opinion  was  adopted  by 
Socinus  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  is  held  by  the  modern 
Socinians.  The  Arminians,  who  derive  their  name  from 
Arminius,  a  divine  of  the  seventeenth  century,  may  not 
speak  in  the  same  unqualified  terms  of  the  purity  of  the 
descendants  of  Adam,  but  they  do  not  admit  that  their  na- 
ture is  wholly  vitiated,  or  that  they  have  entirely  lost  their 
power  to  do  good.  In  opposition  to  such  tenets  our  Con- 
fession teaches,  that  a  corrupt  nature  is  conveyed  to  all  the 
posterity  of  Adam ;  and  that,  by  this  original  corruption, 
"  we  are  utterly  indisposed,  disabled,  and  made  opposite  to 
all  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  all  evil." 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark,  that  it  is  not  the  doctrine*  of 
*  Mosheim's  Churh  History,  ccent.  v.,  p.  2,  ch.  5. 


78  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fCHAP.  VI. 

the  Scriptures  nor  of  our  standards  that  the  corruption  of 
nature  of  which  they  speak  is  any  depravation  of  the  soul, 
or  any  essential  attribute,  or  the  infusion  of  any  positive  evil. 
The  Confessions  of  the  Reformers  teach  "  that  original  righ- 
teousness, as  a  punishment  of  Adam's  sin,  was  lost,  and  by  that 
defect  the  tendency  to  sin,  or  corrupt  disposition,  or  corrup- 
tion of  nature,  is  occasioned.  Though  they  speak  of  original 
sin  as  being,  first,  negative — i.  e.,  the  loss  of  righteousness — 
and,  secondly,  positive,  or  corruption  of  nature,  yet  by  the 
latter,  they  state,  is  to  be  understood,  not  the  infusion  of  any- 
thing in  itself  sinful,  but  an  actual  tendency  or  disposition  to 
evil,  resulting  from  the  loss  of  righteousness."  *  The  uni- 
versal corruption  of  mankind  is  amply  confirmed  by  the 
Scriptures:  "The  imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his 
youth." — Gen.  viii.  21.  "  Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity: 
and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me." — Ps.  li.  5.  "  The 
wicked  are  estranged  from  the  womb,  they  go  astray  as  soon 
as  they  be  born,  speaking  lies." — Ps.  lviii.  3.  "  That  which 
is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh." — John  iii.  6.  "  The  carnal  mind 
is  enmity  against  God:  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God, 
neither  indeed  can  be." — Rom.  viii.  7.  These,  with  many 
other  places  of  Scripture,  fully  show  that  all  mankind  are 
infected  with  a  corrupted  nature.  And  the  Scriptures  no 
less  clearly  ascribe  this  corruption  to  the  apostasy  of  Adam. 
The  first  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  but  after  his 
fall  "  he  begat  a  son  in  Ins  own  likeness." — Gen.  v.  3.  "  By 
one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin." — 
Rom.  v.  12. 

The  corruption  of  human  nature,  which  the  Scriptures  so 
clearly  teach,  may  also  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  men, 
in  all  countries  and  in  all  varieties  of  situation,  are  sinners. 
"  The  way  we  come  by  the  idea  of  any  such  thing  as  dispo- 
sition or  tendency,  is  by  observing  what  is  constant  or  general 
in  event,  especially  under  a  great  variety  of  circumstances." 
Now,  it  is  a  fact,  "  that  all  mankind  come  into  the  world  in 
such  a  state  as  without  fail  comes  to  this  issue,  namely,  the 
universal  commission  of  sin ;  or  that  every  one  who  comes 
to  act  in  the  world  as  a  moral  agent,  is,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  guilty  of  sin."  From  this  we  iufer  "  that  the  mind 
of  man  has  a  natural  tendency  or  propensity  to  that  event 
which  so  universally  and  infallibly  takes  place ;  and  that  this 
is  a  corrupt  or  depraved  propensity."  +  The  universal  pre- 
valence of  sin  cannot  be  accounted  for,  as  Pelagians  have 

*  Hodge  on  the  Romans,  p.  158. 

t  Edwards  on  Original  Sin,  part  i.,  sect.  1,  2.  This  argument,  so  ably  con- 
ducted by  President  Edwards,  has  been  illustrated,  with  his  usual  eloquence, 
by  Dr  Chalmers,  in  his  Lectures  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  pp.  3G7-370. 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  79 

alleged,  by  the  influence  of  bad  example ;  for,  as  President 
Edwards  has  justly  argued,  "  this  is  accounting  for  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  world  by  the  corruption  of  the  world."  There 
are  manifestations  of  moral  depravity  so  very  early  in  child- 
hood as  to  anticipate  all  capacity  for  observing  and  following 
the  example  of  others.  There  also  frequently  appear  in  chil- 
dren propensities  towards  those  vices  of  which  they  have 
seen  no  examples.  Besides,  there  are  many  examples  of 
eminent  virtue  in  the  world,  which  yet  are  not  so  frequently 
or  easily  imitated  as  those  of  a  vicious  nature,  which  plainly 
shows  an  innate  tendency  towards  vice. 

Another  branch  of  original  sin  is  the  imputation  of  the 
guilt  of  Adam's  first  transgression.  This  is  rejected  by  many 
who  admit  original  corruption.*  By  the  imputation  of  Adam's 
first  sin,  it  is  not  intended  that  his  personal  transgression 
becomes  the  personal  transgression  of  his  posterity ;  but  that 
the  guilt  of  his  transgression  is  reckoned  to  their  account. 
And  it  is  only  the  guilt  of  his  first  sin,  which  was  committed 
by  him  as  a  public  representative,  that  is  imputed  to  his 
posterity,  and  not  the  guilt  of  his  future  sins,  after  he  had 
ceased  to  act  in  that  character.  The  grounds  of  this  im- 
putation are,  that  Adam  was  both  the  natural  root  and  the 
federal  head  or  representative  of  all  his  posterity.  The  for- 
mer is  the  only  ground  mentioned  in  this  section  of  the  Con- 
fession, probably,  because  the  representative  character  of 
Adam  in  the  covenant  of  works  has  not  yet  been  brought 
into  view  ;"but  in  the  succeeding  chapter  this  is  distinctly 
recognised.  And  both  in  the  Larger  Catechism  (Quset.  22),  and 
in  the  Shorter  (Quest.  16),  the  representative  character  of 
Adam  in  the  covenant  made  with  him,  is  explicitly  assigned 
as  the  principal  ground  of  the  imputation  of  the  guilt  of  his 
first  sin  to  all  his  posterity. 

We  do  not  see  how  the  universal  corruption  of  mankind 
can  be  accounted  for,  without  admitting  that  they  are  in- 
volved in  the  guilt  of  his  first  transgression.  It  must  be 
some  sin  which  God  punishes  with  the  deprivation  of  ori- 
ginal righteousness;  and  that  can  be  no  other  than  the  first 
sin  of  Adam.  The  doctrine  of  imputation  is  cleai-ly  taught 
in  Scripture  ;  particularly  in  Rom.  v.,  it  is  so  plainly  stated, 
so  often  repeated,  and  so  formally  proved,  that  it  must  be 

*  In  the  seventeenth  century,  De  la  Place  affirmed,  "  that  original  sin  is  indi- 
rectly, and  not  directly,  imputed  to  mankind."  (Mosheim's  Church  History, 
cent,  xvii.,  sect.  2,  p.  2,  ch.  2. )  By  this  is  meant,  that  the  personal  transgres- 
sion of  Adam  is  not  imputed  to  mankind,  but  that  they  derive  from  him  a 
corrupted  nature,  and  that  this  corruption  is  imputed  to  them.  Among  re- 
cent authors,  we  may  mention  Dr  Dwight,  who  denies  the  imputation  of 
Adam's  first  sin  to  his  posterity,  and  limits  the  consequences  of  his  fall,  as 
regards  them,  to  the  conveyance  of  mora!  depravity .— Serm.  32. 


80  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fcHAP.    VI. 

acknowledged  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle.  In  support 
of  this  doctrine,  we  might  appeal  to  the  universality  of  the 
effects  of  sin;  especially  to  the  death  of  infants.  The  apostle 
affirms,  in  the  most  express  terms,  that  death  is  the  effect  of 
sin  (Rom.  v.  12);  and  experience  as  well  as  Scripture  shows 
that  death  passes  upon  all  men.  It  passes  even  upon  those 
who  are  incapable  of  committing  actual  sin  ;  for  "  death 
reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that  had  not 
sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression." — Rom. 
v.  14.  This  is  generally  understood  as  referring  to  infants, 
who  are  incapable  of  sinning  personally  and  actually,  as 
Adam  did  ;  and  since  they  have  never  in  their  own  persons 
violated  any  law,  their  exposure  to  death  can  only  be  ac- 
counted for  on  the  ground  of  the  imputation  to  them  of  the 
sin  of  Adam.  This  doctrine  also  derives  confirmation  from 
the  analogy  betwixt  Adam  and  Christ,  as  stated  by  the 
apostle  in  the  same  chapter.  In  verse  14,  he  affirms  that 
Adam  "  is  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come,"  and  he  traces 
the  analogy  in  the  subsequent  verses,  particularly  in  verses 
18,  19.  "  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justifica- 
tion of  life.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were 
made  sinners  ;  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be 
made  righteous."  "These  verses,"  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  con- 
tain the  strength  of  the  argument  for  the  imputation  of 
Adam's  sin.  As  the  condemnation  of  Adam  comes  to  us, 
even  so  does  the  justification  by  Christ  come  to  us.  Now  we 
know  that  the  merit  of  the  Saviour  is  ascribed  to  us,  else 
no  atonement  for  the  past,  and  no  renovation  of  heart  or  of 
life  that  is  ever  exemplified  in  this  world  for  the  future,  will 
suffice  for  our  acceptance  with  God.  Even  so,  then,  must  the 
demerit  of  Adam  have  been  ascribed  to  us.  The  analogy 
affirmed  in  these  verses  leads  irresistibly  to  this  conclusion. 
The  judgment  that  we  are  guilty  is  transferred  to  us  from  the 
actual  guilt  of  the  one  representative,  even  as  the  judgment 
that  we  are  righteous  is  transferred  to  us  from  the  actual 
righteousness  of  the  other  representative.  We  are  sinners 
in  virtue  of  one  man's  disobedience,  independently  of  our 
own  personal  sins;  and  we  are  righteous  in  virtue  of  another's 
obedience,  independently  of  our  own  personal  qualifications. 
We  do  not  say,  but  that  through  Adam  we  become  personally 
sinful — inheriting  as  we  do  his  corrupt  nature.  Neither  do 
we  say,  but  that  through  Christ  we  become  personally  holy — 
deriving  out  of  his  fulness  the  very  graces  which  adorned  his 
own  character.     But,  as  it  is  at  best  a  tainted  holiness  that 


SECT.  5.~]  OF  THE  PALL  OF  MAN.  81 

we  have  on  this  side  of  death,  we  must  have  something  more 
than  it  in  which  to  appear  before  God;  and  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  reckoned  unto  us  and  rewarded  in  us,  is  that 
something.  The  something  which  corresponds  to  this  in 
Adam,  is  his  guilt  reckoned  unto  us  and  punished  in  us — so 
that,  to  complete  the  analogy,  as  from  him  we  get  the  in- 
fusion of  his  depravity,  so  from  him  also  do  we  get  the  im- 
putation of  his  demerit."*  "  Adam  is  not  merely  the  cor- 
rupt parent  of  a  corrupt  offspring,  who  sin  because  of  the 
depravity  wherewith  he  has  tainted  all  the  families  of  the 
earth;  but  who  have  sinned  in  him,  to  use  the  language  of 
our  old  divines,  as  their  federal  head — as  the  representative 
of  a  covenant  which  God  made  with  him,  and  through  him 
with  all  his  posterity  ,"f 

Section  V. — This  corruption  of  nature,  during  this 
life,  doth  remain  in  those  that  are  regenerated,11  and 
although  it  be  through  Christ  pardoned  and  mortified, 
yet  both  itself,  and  all  'the  motions  thereof,  are  truly 
and  properly  sin.12 

11  1  Johni.  8,  10.    Rom.  vii.  14,  17,1  12  Rom.    vii.    5,  7,  8,  25.      Gal.  v. 
18,23.   James  iii.  2.  Prov.  xx.  9.  17. 

Eccl.  vii.  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  teaches  us,  that  corruption  of  nature  remains 
in  those  that  are  regenerated,  and  is  commensurate  with  this 
life.  This  condemns  the  tenet  of  .Christian  perfection ;  and  it 
is  supported  by  the  plainest  declarations  of  Scripture.  "  If 
we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the 
truth  is  not  in  us." — 1  John  i.  8.  Paul  himself  says,  "Sin 
dwelleth  in  me,"  and  affirms,  that  "when  he  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  him." — Rom.  vii.  17-21.  It  has, 
indeed,  been  disputed,  whether  Paul,  in  that  chapter,  describes 
his  own  feelings,  or  personates  another.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  Paul  speaks  of  himself  as  regenerated,  and  describes 
his  own  state,  and  consequently  the  state  of  every  regenerated 
person;  but  we  do  not  rest  the  doctrine  upon  this  single 
passage,  for  the  conflict  there  described  is  represented  in 
othei  places  in  language  which,  by  common  consent,  can 
only  be  applied  to  true  Christians.  We  shall  only  refer  to 
Gal.«v.  17:  "The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh:  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the 
other;  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would." 

*  Chalmers'  Lectures  on  the  Romans,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  22,  23. 
t  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  422. 


82  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VI. 

This  section  also  affirms  that,  even  in  the  regenerated,  this 
corruption,  and  all  the  motions  thereof,  are  truly  and  properly 
sin.  The  guilt  of  it  is,  no  doubt,  removed  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  the  power  of  it  subdued  by  his  Spirit  and  grace; 
but,  in  itself,  it  retains  the  character  of  sin.  This  is  affirmed 
in  opposition  to  a  tenet  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  That  uni- 
versal propensity  to  sin,  which  we  call  the  corruption  of 
nature,  Roman  Catholic  writers  denominate  concupiscence ;  and 
this,  they  maintain,  is  no  part  of  original  sin,  and  is  not  in 
itself  sinful.  As  they  believe  that  original  sin  is  taken  away 
by  baptism,  and  nevertheless  find  that  this  corrupt  disposi- 
tion remains  in  the  regenerated,  they  conclude  that  it  is  no 
part  of  original  sin,  but  that  it  is  the  natural  state  in  which 
Adam  was  made  at  first ;  only,  that  in  us  it  is  without  the 
restraint  of  supernatural  assistance  which  was  given  to  him, 
and  which,  in  consequence  of  his  transgression,  was  with- 
drawn from  him  and  his  posterity.  In  answer  to  this,  it  is 
argued  that  lust  or  concupiscence  is,  in  several  places  of  the 
New  Testament,  spoken  of  as  sin;  particularly  in  Rom.  vii.  7, 
Paul  declares  that  "he  had  not  known  sin  but  by  the  law;" 
he  then  gives  an  instance  of  this, — "  he  had  not  known  Inst, 
except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shall  not  covet."  Here  he 
expressly  asserts  that  lust  is  sin.* 

Section  VI. — Every  sin,  both  original  and  actual, 
being  a  transgression  of  the  righteous  law  of  God,  and 
contrary  thereunto,13  doth,  in  its  own  nature,  bring  guilt 
upon  the  sinner,14  whereby  he  is  bound  over  to  the  wrath 
of  God,15  and  curse  of  the  law,16  and  so  made  subject  to 
death,17  with  all  miseries  spiritual,18  temporal,19  and 
eternal.20 

'3  1  John  iii.  4.  I  1T  Rom.  vi.  23.        18  Eph.  iv.  18. 

14  Rom.  ii.  15;  iii.  9,  19.  19  Rom.  viii.  20.     Lam.  " 


Eph.  ii.  3.  16  Gal.  iii.  10.         |  20  Matt.  xxv.  41.    2  Thess.  i.  9 


EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  desert  of  sin.  Being  a  trans- 
gression of  the  law  of  God,  it  must,  in  its  own  nature,  bring 
guilt  upon  the  sinner,  or  render  him  liable  to  punishment. 
It  exposes  him  to  the  wrath  of  God,  for  "  the  children  of  dis- 
obedience "  are  also  "  children  of  wrath,"  i.  e.,  they  deserve 
and  are  obnoxious  to  the  wrath  of  God.  It  subjects  him  to 
the  curse  of  the  law,  by  which  we  may  understand  the  con- 

*  Burnet  on  the  Thirty- Nine  Articles,  Art.  9.  Hill's  Lectures  in  Divinity, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  16. 


SECT.  6.]  OF  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  83 

demnatory  sentence  of  the  broken  law,  which  binds  over  the 
guilty  sinner  to  all  the  direful  effects  of  the  wrath  of  God. 
It  likewise  subjects  him  to  death,  or  the  dissolution  of  the 
mysterious  union  between  the  soul  and  the  body.  Pelagians 
and  Socinians  hold  that  death  is  not  the  punishment  of  sin 
— that  Adam  was  mortal  from  the  beginning ;  and  for  this 
reason,  those  who  are  born  of  him  must  also  be  mortal. 
Others,  again,  both  in  former  and  later  times,  have  held  that 
temporal  death  was  the  only  penalty  threatened  to  Adam, 
and  that  this  is  the  only  death  which  results  from  his  sin. 
Both  these  opinions  are  so  plainly  contradictory  to  the  ex- 
press declarations  of  the  Word  of  God,  that  they  are  unworthy 
of  serious  refutation.  In  addition  to  this,  our  Confession 
states,  that  sin  exposes  the  sinner  to  numerous  miseries,  both 
in  this  life,  and  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Among  the  spiri- 
tual or  inward  miseries  to  which  it  renders  the  sinner  liable 
in  this  world,  the  compilers  of  our  Confession  elsewhere 
mention  "blindness  of  mind,  a  reprobate  sense,  strong  de- 
lusions, hardness  of  heart,  horror  of  conscience,  and  vile 
affections  ;"  and  among  the  temporal  or  outward  miseries, 
they  mention  "  the  curse  of  God  upon  the  creatures  for  our 
sakes,  and  all  other  evils  that  befal  us  in  our  bodies,  names, 
relations,  and  employments."  *  And  the  miseries  to  which 
sin  exposes  in  the  world  to  come,  they  sum  up  in  "  everlasting 
separation  from  the  comfortable  presence  of  God,  and  most 
grievous  torments  in  soul  and  body,  without  intermission,  in 
hell-fire  for  ever."  + 

When  we  reflect  on  the  loss  which  Adam  sustained  by  his 
fall,  and  on  the  guilty  and  corrupted  state  in  which  we  are 
thereby  involved,  and  on  the  manifold  miseries  to  which  we 
are  liable,  both  here  and  hereafter,  let  us  be  deeply  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  the  dreadful  malignity  and  demerit  of  sin, — 
the  source  of  all  our  woe.  Let  us  not  dare  to  repine  against 
God,  or  to  impeach  his  goodness  or  equity,  for  permitting  sin 
to  enter  into  the  world,  and  making  us  responsible  for  the 
transgression  of  the  first  Adam ;  but  rather  let  us  admire  the 
divine  wisdom  and  grace  displayed  in  providing  the  second 
Adam,  by  whose  obedience  we  may  be  made  righteous,  as  by 
the  disobedience  of  the  first  we  were  made  sinners.  Let  us 
cordially  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  being  found  in 
him,  we  may  not  only  be  acquitted  from  the  guilt  of  the  first 
man's  transgression,  but  may  be  brought,  through  "  the  abun- 
dance of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  to  reign  in 
life  by  one,"  even  by  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

*  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  28.  t  Ibid.,  Quest.  29.    . 


84  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VII. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN. 

Section  I. — The  distance  between  God  and  the  crea- 
ture is  so  great,  that  although  reasonable  creatures 
do  owe  obedience  unto  him  as  their  Creator,  yet 
they  could  never  have  any  fruition  of  him  as  their 
blessedness  and  reward,  but  by  some  voluntary  con- 
descension on  God's  part,  which  he  hath  been  pleased  to 
express  by  way  of  covenant.1 

Section  II. — The  first  covenant  made  with  man  was 
a  covenant  of  works,2  wherein  life  was  promised  to 
Adam,  and  in  him  to  his  posterity,3  upon  condition  of 
perfect  and  personal  obedience.4 

1  Is.  xl.  13-17.   Jobix.  32,  33.     1  Sam.  I  *  Gal.  iii.  12. 

ii.  25.     Ps.   cxiii.  5,  6;  c.  2,  3.     3  Rom.  x.  5;  v.  12-20. 

Job  xxii.  2, 3  ;  xxxv.  7, 8.   Luke    *  Gen.  ii.  17.    Gal.  iii.  10. 
xvii.  10.     Acts  xvii.  24,  25.          | 

EXPOSITION. 

Man  is  naturally  and  necessarily  under  a  law  to  God.  This 
results  from  the  necessary  and  unalterable  relation  subsisting 
between  God  and  man,  as  the  one  is  the  Creator,  and  the 
other  his  creature.  God  might,  therefore,  if  he  had  pleased, 
demanded  all  possible  obedience  of  man,  without  making  any 
promise  securing  his  establishment  in  a  state  of  innocence 
and  enjoyment,  and  his  advancement  to  a  state  of  still  higher 
felicity,  as  the  reward  of  his  obedience.  And  though  man  had 
gone  through  a  long  course  of  obedience,  without  a  single 
failure,  he  could  not  have  laid  his  Creator  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  him,  or  been  entitled  to  any  recompense.  But  God 
graciously  condescended  to  deal  with  man  by  way  of  cove- 
nant, and  thus  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  secure  his  happi- 
ness by  acquiring  a  right  to  it — a  right  founded  upon  stipu- 
lation, or  upon  the  promise.  "  Man,"  says  the  celebrated 
"Witsius,  "  upon  his  accepting  the  covenant,  and  performing 
the  condition,  does  acquire  some  right  to  demand  of  God  the 
promise ;  for  God  has,  by  his  promises,  made  himself  a  debtor 
to  man ;  or,  to  speak  in  a  manner  more  becoming  God,  he 
was  pleased  to  make  his  performing  his  promises  a  debt  due 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN.  85 

to  himself, — to  his  goodness,  justice,  and  veracity.  And  to 
man,  in  covenant,  and  continuing  stedfast  to  it,  he  granted 
the  right  of  expecting  and  requiring  that  God  should  satisfy 
the  demands  of  his  goodness,  justice,  and  truth,  by  the  per- 
formance of  the  promises."  * 

A  covenant  is  generally  defined  to  be  an  agreement  be- 
tween two  parties,  on  certain  terms.  In  every  covenant 
there  must  be  two  parties,  and  consequently  two  parts — a 
conditionary  and  a  promissory  ;  the  one  to  be  performed  by 
the  one  party,  and  the  other  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  other 
party.  If  either  of  the  parties  be  fallible,  a  penalty  is  often 
added ;  but  this  is  not  essential  to  a  covenant. 

There  are  two  important  truths  to  which  our  attention  is 
here  directed.  First,  That  God  entered  into  a  covenant  with 
Adam,  promising  him  life  upon  condition  of  his  perfect  and 
personal  obedience.  Secondly,  That  this  covenant  was  made 
with  Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  all  his  natural  pos- 
terity. 

I.  That  God  entered  into  a  covenant  with  Adam  in  his 
state  of  innocence,  appears  from  Gen.  ii.  16,  17:  "  The  Lord 
God  commanded  the  man,  saying,  Of  every  tree  of  the  gar- 
den thou  mayest  freely  eat :  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  that 
thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Here,  indeed, 
there  is  no  express  mention  of  a  covenant ;  but  we  find  all 
the  essential  requisites  of  a  proper  covenant.  In  this  trans- 
action there  are  two  parties;  the  Lord  God  on  the  one  hand, 
and  man  on  the  other.  There  is  a  condition  expressly  stated, 
in  the  positive  precept  respecting  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil,  which  God  was  pleased  to  make  the  test  of 
man's  obedience.  There  is  a  penalty  subjoined :  "  In  the 
day  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  There  is 
also  a  promise,  not  distinctly  expressed,  but  implied  in  the 
threatening ;  for,  if  death  was  to  be  the  consequence  of  dis- 
obedience, it  clearly  follows  that  life  was  to  be  the  reward  of 
obedience.  That  a  promise  of  fife  was  annexed  to  man's 
obedience,  may  also  be  inferred  from  the  description  which 
Moses  gives  of  the  righteousness  of  the  law :  "  The  man  that 
doeth  these  things  shall  live  by  them," — Rom.  x.  5 ;  from  our 
Lord's  answer  to  the  young  man  who  inquired  what  he  should 
do  to  inherit  eternal  life  :  "  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep 
the  commandments," — Matt.  xix.  1 7 ;  and  from  the  declara- 
tion of  the  apostle,  that  "  the  commandment  was  ordained  to 
life." — Rom.  vii.  10.  We  are,  therefore,  warranted  to  call 
the  transaction  between  God  and  Adam  a  covenant.     We  may 

*  Witsius  on  the  Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  i.,  ch.  1.  sect.  14 


86*  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QCHAP.  VII. 

even  allege,  for  the  use  of  this  term,  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture. In  Hos.  vi.  7  (margin),  we  read,  "  They,  like  Adam, 
have  transgressed  the  covenant."  This  necessarily  implies 
that  a  covenant  was  made  with  Adam,  and  that  he  violated  it. 

II.  That  this  covenant  was  made  with  Adam,  not  only  for 
himself,  but  also  for  all  his  natural  posterity,  is  a  doctrine 
which  has  met  with  much  opposition.  It  is  denied  by  Pela- 
gians and  Socinians,  who  maintain  that  he  acted  for  himself 
alone,  and  that  the  effects  of  his  fall  terminated  upon  him- 
self. Arminians  admit  that  the  whole  human  race  is  injured 
by  the  first  sin,  but  at  the  sametime  controvert  the  proposi- 
tion, that  Adam  was  their  proper  representative.  This  truth, 
however,  may  be  easily  established.  The  Scripture  repre- 
sents Adam  as  a  figure  or  type  of  Christ, — Rom.  v.  14  ;  and 
wherein  does  the  resemblance  between  them  consist  ?  Simply 
in  this,  that  as  Christ  was  a  federal  head,  representing  all  his 
spiritual  seed  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  so  Adam  was  a  federal 
head  representing  all  his  natural  seed  in  the  covenant  of 
works.  In  1  Cor.  xv.  45,  47,  the  one  is  called  the  first  Adam, 
the  other,  the  last  Adam;  the  one  the  first  man,  the  other  the 
second  man.  Now,  Christ  was  not  the  second  man  in  any  other 
sense,  but  as  being  the  federal  head  or  representative  of  his 
seed ;  and,  therefore,  the  first  man  must  have  sustained  a 
similar  character,  as  being  the  federal  head  or  representative 
of  all  his  natural  posterity.  The  extension  of  the  effects  of 
Adam's  first  sin  to  all  his  descendants,  is  another  strong 
proof  of  his  having  represented  them  in  the  covenant  made 
with  him.  That  he  has  transmitted  sin  and  death  to  all  his 
posterity,  is  clearly  taught  in  the  5th  chapter  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans ;  and  unless  his  public  character,  as  a  repre- 
sentative in  the  covenant,  be  admitted,  no  satisfactory  reason 
can  be  assigned  why  we  are  affected  by  his  first  sin  in  a  way 
that  we  are  not  affected  by  his  subsequent  transgressions,  or 
the  transgressions  of  our  more  immediate  progenitors.  We 
know  that  "  the  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father" 
(Ezek.  xviii.  20);  and  had  Adam  been  merely  a  private  per- 
son, his  sin  could  have  affected  us  no  more  than  that  of  our 
immediate  parents.  The  conclusion  is  inevitable, — that,  in 
the  covenant  of  works,  our  first  parent  not  only  acted  for 
himself,  but  represented  all  his  natural  posterity. 

Often  has  this  part  of  the  divine  procedure  been  ar- 
raigned by  presumptuous  man.  The  supposition  that  God 
called  Adam  to  represent  us  in  a  covenant,  into  which  he 
entered  with  him  long  before  we  had  a  being,  and  to  the 
making  of  which  we  could  not  personally  consent,  is,  it  has 
been  alleged,  inconsistent  with  the  divine  goodness,  and 


SECT.  3.]  OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN.  87 

contrary  to  moral  justice  and  equity.  To  this  it  might  be 
sufficient  to  reply,  that  this  transaction  being  the  proposal 
and  deed  of  God,  it  must  be  fit  and  equitable.  "  Shall  not 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ? "  "  He  is  a  God  of  truth, 
and  without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  he."  But  though  we 
ought  to  acquiesce  in  the  propriety  of  this  transaction,  simply 
because  it  was  the  will  of  God,  yet  it  might  be  evinced,  by 
various  considerations,  that  it  was  not  only  consistent  with 
equity,  but  manifested  much  of  the  divine  goodness.  If 
Adam  had  fulfilled  the  condition  of  the  covenant,  and  thus 
secured  happiness,  not  only  to  himself,  but  also  to  all  his  pos- 
terity, no  one,  certainly,  would  have  complained  that  Adam 
was  constituted  his  representative;  and  why  should  that 
transaction,  which,  in  this  event,  would  have  been  deemed 
just,  be  pronounced  unjust  on  the  contrary  event  ?  Adam, 
being  made  after  the  image  of  God,  was  as  capable  of  keep- 
ing the  covenant  as  any  of  his  posterity  could  ever  be  sup- 
posed to  be;  that  he  should  fulfil  it  was  as  much  his  per- 
sonal interest  as  that  of  any  of  his  descendants,  his  own 
felicity,  no  less  than  theirs,  being  at  stake  ;  and  he  was  inti- 
mately related  to  the  persons  whom  he  represented,  and  had 
the  strongest  inducement  to  take  care  of  his  numerous  off- 
spring, as  well  as  of  himself.  Adam  having  such  peculiar 
advantages  and  inducements  to  perform  the  demanded  obe- 
dience, it  may  be  fairly  presumed,  that,  had  it  been  possible 
for  us  to  be  present  when  the  federal  transaction  was  entered 
into,  we  would  have  readily  agreed  that  it  was  more  eligible 
and  safe  for  us  to  have  our  everlasting  felicity  insured  by 
the  obedience  of  our  first  parent,  as  our  covenant  head,  than 
that  it  should  depend  upon  our  own  personal  behaviour. 
And  who  would  complain  of  his  being  represented  by  Adam 
in  the  covenant  of  works,  since  God  has  opened  up  a  way  for 
our  recovery  from  the  consequences  of  the  breach  of  that 
covenant,  by  another  and  a  superior  covenant  ? 

Section  III. — Man,  by  his  fall,  having  made  himself 
incapable  of  life  by  that  covenant,  the  Lord  was  pleased 
to  make  a  second,5  commonly  called  the  Covenant  of 
Grace :  whereby  he  freely  offereth  unto  sinners  life  and 
salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  requiring  of  them  faith  in  him, 
that  they  may  be  saved; 6  and  promising  to  give  unto  all 
those  that  are  ordained  unto  life  his  Holy  Spirit,  to 
make  them  willing  and  able  to  believe.7 

6  Gal.  iii.  21.    Rom.  viii.  3;  iii.  20,  21.  I  «  Markxvi.  15, 16.   John  iii.  16.    Rom. 
Gen.  iii.  15.     Is.  xlii.  6.  x.  6,  9.     Gal.  iii.  11. 

7  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27.    John  vi.  44,  45. 


88  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VII. 


EXPOSITION. 

In  entering  upon  the  exposition  of  this  section,  it  is  proper 
to  remark,  that,  at  the  period  when  our  Confession  was  framed, 
it  was  generally  held  by  the  most  eminent  divines,  that  there 
are  two  covenants  connected  with  the  salvation  of  men,  which 
they  called  the  covenant  of  redemption,  and  the  covenant  of 
grace;  the  former  made  with  Christ  from  everlasting,  the 
latter  made  with  sinners  in  time ;  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
being  the  condition  of  the  former,  and  faith  the  condition  of 
the  latter  covenant.  This  distinction,  we  conceive,  has  no 
foundation  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  it  has  long  since 
been  abandoned  by  all  evangelical  divines.  The  first  Adam 
is  said  to  have  been  a  figure  of  Christ,  who  is  called  the  second 
Adam.  Now,  there  was  not  one  covenant  made  with  Adam, 
the  condition  of  which  he  was  to  perform,  and  another  made 
with  his  posterity,  the  condition  of  which  they  were  to  fulfil ; 
but  one  covenant  included  both  him  and  them.  It  was 
made  with  him  as  their  representative,  and  with  them  as  re- 
presented in  and  by  him.  In  like  manner,  one  covenant  in- 
cludes Christ  and  his  spiritual  seed.  The  Scriptures,  accord- 
ingly, everywhere  speak  of  it  as  one  covenant,  and  the  blood 
of  Christ  is  repeatedly  called  "  the  blood  of  the  covenant,"  not 
of  the  covenants,  as  we  may  presume  it  would  have  been 
called,  if  it  had  been  the  condition  of  a  covenant  of  redemp- 
tion and  the  foundation  of  a  covenant  of  grace. — Heb.  x.  29, 
xiii.  20.  By  the  blood  of  the  same  covenant  Christ  made 
satisfaction,  and  we  obtain  deliverance. — Zech.  ix.  11.  We 
hold,  therefore,  that  there  is  only  one  covenant  for  the  sal- 
vation of  fallen  men,  and  that  this  covenant  was  made  with 
Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.*  The  Scriptures, 
indeed,  frequently  speak  of  God  making  a  covenant  with 
believers,  but  this  language  admits  of  an  easy  explication,  in 
consistency  with  the  unity  of  the  covenant.  "  The  covenant 
of  grace,"  says  a  judicious  writer,  "  was  made  with  Christ  in 
a  strict  and  proper  sense,  as  he  was  the  party-contractor  in 
it,  and  undertook  to  fulfil  the  condition  of  it.  It  is  made 
with  believers  in  an  improper  sense,  when  they  are  taken 
into  the  bond  of  it,  and  come  actually  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of 

*  The  distinction  between  the  covenant  of  redemption  and  the  covenant 
of  grace  was  maintained  by  Owen,  Charnock,  Flavel,  and  many  others.  By 
them  it  was  explained  in  a  sense  consistent  with  the  perfections  and  grace  of 
God.  But  by  others,  the  covenant  of  redemption  has  been  represented  as  the 
foundation  for  God's  entering  into  another  covenant  with  sinners,  of  which 
faith,  repentance,  and  sincere  obedience,  are  made  the  terms.  That  the  cove- 
nant made  with  Christ  and  with  believers  is  one  and  the  same  covenant,  has 
been  maintained  by  Boston,  R.  and  E.  Erskine,  Adam  Gib,  Hill  of  London, 
Brown  of  Haddington,  Dick,  Belfrage,  and,  indeed,  by  all  modern  evangeli- 
cal divines. 


SECT.  3.]  OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN.  89 

it.  How  it  is  made  with  them  may  be  learned  from  the 
words  of  the  apostle, — Acts  xiii.  34 :  '  I  will  give  you  the  sure 
mercies  of  David,'  which  is  a  kind  of  paraphrase  upon  that 
passage, — Is.  lv.  3 :  'I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David.'  God  makes  the 
covenant  with  them,  not  by  requiring  anything  of  them  in 
order  to  entitle  them  or  lay  a  foundation  for  their  claim  to 
the  blessings  of  it,  but  by  making  these  over  to  them  as  a 
free  gift,  and  putting  them  in  possession  of  them,  as  far  as 
their  present  state  will  admit,  by  a  faith  of  his  own  opera- 
tion." * 

The  supposition  of  two  covenants  for  the  salvation  of  man- 
kind sinners,  is  encumbered  with  various  difficulties.  One  is 
obvious.  In  every  proper  covenant,  there  are  two  essential 
parts — a  conditionally  and  a  promissory.  If,  therefore,  there 
be  a  covenant  made  with  sinners,  different  from  the  covenant 
made  with  Christ,  it  must  have  a  condition  which  they  them- 
selves must  perform.  But  though  our  old  divines  called 
faith  the  condition  of  the  covenant  made  with  sinners,  they 
did  not  assign  any  merit  to  faith,  but  simply  precedence. 
"  The  truth  is,"  as  Dr  Dick  has  remarked,  "  that  what  these 
divines  call  the  covenant  of  grace,  is  merely  the  administra- 
tion of  what  they  call  the  covenant  of  redemption,  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  its  blessings  to  those  for  whom 
they  were  intended ;  and  cannot  be  properly  considered  as  a 
covenant,  because  it  is  not  suspended  upon  a  proper  condi- 
tion." The  Westminister  Assembly,  in  this  section,  appear 
to  describe  what  was  then  usually  designated  the  covenant 
of  grace,  as  distinguished  from  the  covenant  of  redemption. 
But,  though  they  viewed  the  covenant  under  a  twofold  con- 
sideration, as  made  with  the  Surety  from  everlasting,  and  as 
made  with  sinners  in  time,  they  certainly  regarded  it  as  one 
and  the  same  covenant.  "  The  covenant  of  grace,"  say  they, 
"  was  made  with  Christ  as  the  second  Adam,  and  in  him 
with  all  the  elect  as  his  seed."  f  The  doctrine  of  our  stan- 
dards on  this  deeply  interesting  subject,  may  be  summed  up 
in  the  following  propositions : — 

1.  That  a  covenant  was  entered  into  between  Jehovah  the 
Father  and  his  co-etemal  Son,  respecting  the  salvation  of 
sinners  of  mankind.  The  reality  of  this  federal  transaction, 
appears  from  Ps.  lxxxix.  3:  "  I  have  made  a  covenant  with 
my  chosen,  I  have  sworn  unto  David  my  servant."  The 
speaker,  in  this  passage,  can  be  no  other  but  the  Lord,  who 
is  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  the  Psalm ;  and  it  cannot 

*  Wilson's  (of  London)  Sermons,  p.  72. 
+  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  31 


90  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VII. 

reasonably  be  questioned,  that  the  words  spoken  have  their 
ultimate  and  principal  fulfilment  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  assert 
a  covenant  made  with  him,  of  which  the  covenant  of  royalty 
made  with  David,  King  of  Israel,  was  typical.  In  other 
places  of  Scripture,  though  the  word  covenant  does  not 
occur,  we  have  a  plain  intimation  of  all  the  essential  parts  of 
a  proper  covenant.  In  Is.  liii.  10,  we  have  the  two  great 
parts  of  the  covenant — the  conditionary  and  the  promissory ; 
and  the  two  glorious  contracting  parties — the  one  undertak- 
ing for  the  performance  of  its  arduous  condition — the  other 
engaging  for  the  fulfilment  of  its  precious  promises :  "  If 
his  soul  shall  make  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  he  shall  see  a 
seed  which  shall  prolong  their  days ;  and  the  gracious  pur- 
pose of  Jehovah  shall  prosper  in  his  hands.5' — (Bishop  Lowth's 
Translation.) 

2.  That  this  covenant  was  made  with  Christ,  as  the  head, 
or  representative,  of  his  spiritual  seed.  This  is  confirmed  by 
the  comparison  between  Christ  and  Adam,  which  is  stated 
by  the  apostle, — Rom.  v.;  1  Cor.  xv.  45,  47;  which  clearly 
establishes  the  truth,  that  Adam  and  Christ  severally  sus- 
tained a  public  character,  as  the  federal  heads  of  their  re- 
spective seeds.  Christ  and  his  spiritual  seed  are  called  by 
the  same  name  (Isa.  xlix.  3), — a  plain  evidence  of  God's 
dealing  with  him  as  their  representative  in  the  covenant. 
Christ  is  likewise  called  the  Surety  of  the  covenant  (Heb. 
vii.  22);  and  the  promises  of  the  covenant  were  primarily 
made  to  him. — Gal.  iii.  16;  Tit.  i.  2. 

3.  That  this  covenant  originated  in  the  free  grace  and 
sovereign  will  of  God.  The  Scriptures  uniformly  ascribe 
this  transaction  to  the  good  pleasure  of  Him  who  worketh 
all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  and  re- 
present it  as  conducing  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace. — Eph.  i.  3^6.  On  this  account  this  covenant  is,  with 
great  propriety,  called  the  covenant  of  grace,  because  it  ori- 
ginated in  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  conveys  the  blessings  of 
salvation  to  sinners  in  a  manner  the  most  gratuitous. 

4.  That  this  covenant  was  established  from  eternity.  The 
covenant  of  grace  is  called  the  second  covenant,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  covenant  of  works  made  with  Adam  ;  but 
though  the  second  in  respect  of  manifestation  and  execution, 
yet,  with  respect  either  to  the  period  or  the  order  in  which 
it  was  made,  it  is  the  first  covenant.  The  Head  of  this  cove- 
nant is  introduced  (Prov.  viii.  23),  saying,  "  I  was  set  up 
from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  ere  ever  the  earth 
was ; "  i.  e.,  he  was  set  apart  to  his  mediatory  office  and  work, 
— in  other  words,  to  be  the  head  of  his  spiritual  seed  in  the 


SECT.  3.]  OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN.  91 

covenant  of  grace  from  everlasting.  The  promise  of  eternal 
life  is  said  to  have  been  given  us  in  Christ  "  before  the  world 
began"  (Tit.  i.  2);  and  the  covenant  is  frequently  styled  an 
everlasting  covenant Heb.  xiii.  20. 

5.  In  the  administration  of  this  covenant,  God  "freely 
offereth  unto  sinners  life  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  re- 
quiring of  them  faith  in  him,  that  they  may  be  saved." 
Though  Christ,  in  this  covenant,  represented  only  a  definite 
number  of  mankind,  who  were  "  chosen  in  him  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,"  yet,  in  the  administration  of  the 
covenant,  a  free  offer  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ  is  addressed 
to  sinners  of  mankind  indefinitely  and  universally. — John 
vi.  32;  Is.  lv.  1;  Rev.  xxii.  17.  This  offer  is  not  restricted, 
as  Baxterians  allege,  to  sensible  sinners,  or  those  who  are 
convinced  of  their  sin,  and  their  need  of  the  Saviour;  for  it 
is  addressed  to  persons  sunk  in  total  insensibility  as  to  their 
own  miseries  and  wants. — Rev.  iii.  17,  18.  This  offer  is  made 
as  really  to  those  who  eventually  reject  it,  as  it  is  to  those 
who  eventually  receive  it ;  for,  if  this  were  not  the  case,  the 
former  class  of  gospel-hearers  could  not  be  condemned  for 
their  unbelief. — John  iii.  18,  19. 

That  God  "  requires  of  sinners  faith  in  Christ  that  they 
may  be  saved,"  admits  of  no  dispute.  The  part  assigned  to 
faith,  however,  has  been  much  controverted.  Many  excellent 
divines,  in  consequence  of  the  distinction  which  they  made 
between  the  covenant  of  redemption  and  the  covenant  of 
grace,  were  led  to  speak  of  faith  as  the  condition  of  the  latter 
covenant.  But  the  term,  as  used  by  them,  signifies  not  a 
meritorious  or  procuring  cause,  but  simply  something  which 
goes  before,  and  without  which  the  other  cannot  be  obtained. 
They  consider  faith  merely  as  a  condition  of  order  or  con- 
nection, as  it  has  been  styled,  and  as  an  instrument  or  means 
of  obtaining  an  interest  in  the  salvation  offered  in  the  gospel. 
This  is  very  different  from  the  meaning  attached  to  the  term 
by  Arminians  and  Neonomians,  who  represent  faith  as  a  con- 
dition on  the  fulfilment  of  which  the  promise  is  suspended.* 
The  Westminster  Assembly  elsewhere  affirm,  that  God  re- 
quires of  sinners  faith  in  Christ,  "  as  the  condition  to  interest 
them  in  him."f  But  this  is  very  different  from  affirming 
that  faith  is  the  condition  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  That 
faith  is  indispensably  necessary  as  the  instrument  by  which 

*  The  sentiments  of  different  writers  on  this  important  point  are  stated  by 
Dr  Fraser,  in  his  excellent  notes  on  Witsius'  Dissertations  on  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  vol.  i.,  note  44.  To  the  writers  mentioned  by  him  may  be  added,  Bos- 
ton (View  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace,  head  iii.,  sect.  1);  Wilson  of  London 
(Sermons,  p.  71) ;  and  Dr  Dick  (Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  434). 

t  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  32. 


92  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VII. 

we  are  savingly  interested  in  Christ,  and  personally  instated 
in  the  covenant,  is  a  most  important  truth,  and  this  is  all  that 
is  intended  by  the  Westminster  divines.  They  seem  to  have 
used  the  term  condition  as  synonymous  with  instrument;  for, 
while  in  one  place  they  speak  of  faith  as  the  condition  to  in- 
terest sinners  in  the  Mediator,  in  other  places  they  affirm,  that 
"  faith  is  the  alone  instrument  of  justification,"*  and  teach,  that 
"  faith  justifies  a  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God,  only  as  it  is  an  in- 
strument by  which  he  receiveth  and  applieth  Christ  and  his 
righteousness."f  As  the  word  condition  is  ambiguous,  apt 
to  be  misunderstood,  and  is  frequently  employed  in  an  un- 
sound and  dangerous  sense,  it  is  now  disused  by  evangelical 
divines. 

6.  That  God  promises  his  Holy  Spirit  to  work  in  his  elect 
that  faith  by  which  they  come  to  have  a  special  interest  in 
the  blessings  of  this  covenant.  This  implies,  that  a  certain 
definite  number  were  ordained  to  eternal  life,  and  that  all 
these  shall  in  due  time  be  brought  to  believe  in  Christ. — 
Acts  xiii.  48.  It  also  implies,  that  they  are  in  themselves 
unwilling  and  unable  to  believe  (John  vi.  44);  but  God  pro- 
mises to  give  them  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  them  willing  and 
able. — Ezek.  xxxvi.  26.  Faith,  therefore,  instead  of  being 
the  condition  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  belongs  to  the  pro- 
missory part  of  the  covenant. — Rom.  xv.  12.  It  is  the  gift 
of  God,  who  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure.— Eph.  ii.  8;  Phil.  ii.  13. 

Section  IV — This  covenant  of  grace  is  frequently  set 
forth  in  the  Scripture  by  the  name  of  a  Testament,  in 
reference  to  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ  the  testator,  and 
to  the  everlasting  inheritance,  with  all  things  belonging 
to  it,  therein  bequeathed.8 

8  Heb.  ix.  15-17;  vii.  22.    Luke  xxii.  20.    1  Cor.  xi.  25. 
EXPOSITION. 

In  the  authorised  English  version  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  covenant  of  grace  is  frequently  designated  a  testament; 
and  it  is  generally  admitted,  that  the  original  word  signifies 
both  a  covenant  and  a  testament.  There  is,  at  least,  one 
passage  in  which  it  is  most  properly  rendered  testament, 
namely,  Heb.  ix.  16,  17.  Some  learned  critics,  indeed,  have 
strenuously  contended  against  the  use  of  that  term  even  in 

*  Confession,  ch.  xi.,  2.  t  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  73. 


SECT.  4-6.]      OF  GOD'S  COVENANT  WITH  MAN.  93 

this  passage ;  but  the  great  majority  allow  that  the  common 
translation  is  unexceptionable.* 

Section  V. — This  covenant  was  differently  adminis- 
tered in  the  time  of  the  law,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
gospel : 9  under  the  law  it  was  administered  by  promises, 
prophecies,  sacrifices,  circumcision,  the  paschal  lamb, 
and  other  types  and  ordinances  delivered  to  the  people 
of  the  Jews,  all  fore-signifying  Christ  to  come,10  which 
were  for  that  time  sufiicient  and  efficacious,  through 
the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  to  instruct  and  build  up  the 
elect  in  faith  in  the  promised  Messiah,11  by  whom  they 
had  full  remission  of  sins,  and  eternal  salvation;  and 
is  called  the  Old  Testament.12 

Section  VI. — Under  the  gospel,  when  Christ  the 
substance,13  was  exhibited,  the  ordinances  in  which  this 
covenant  is  dispensed  are,  the  preaching  of  the  Word, 
and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  of  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper; 14  which  though  fewer  in  number, 
and  administered  with  more  simplicity  and  less  outward 
glory,  yet  in  them  it  is  held  forth  in  more  fulness,  evi- 
dence, and  spiritual  efficacy,15  to  all  nations,  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles ; 16  and  is  called  the  New  Testament.17 
There  are  not,  therefore,  two  covenants  of  grace  differing 
in  substance,  but  one  and  the  same  under  various  dis- 
pensations.18 

9  2  Cor.  iii.  6-9.  |  15  Heb.  xii.  22-27.    Jer.  xxxi.  33,34. 

10  Heb.   viii.  ix.  x.       Rom.  iv.   11.     16  Matt,  xxviii.  19.     Eph.  ii.  15-19. 


Col.  ii.  11,  12.     1  Cor.  v.  7.          |  17  Luke  xxii. 

J1  1  Cor.  x.  1-4.     Heb.  xi.  13.    John    18  Gal.  iii.  14,  16.   Acts  xv.  11.    Rom. 

viii.  56.  iii.  21-23,  30.  Ps.  xxxii.  1.  Rom. 

12  Gal.  iii.  7-9,  14.        "  Col.  ii.  17.     |  iv.  3,  6,  16,  17,  23,  24.     Hebrews 

14  Matt,  xxviii.    19,   20.      1  Cor.  xi.  xiii.  8. 

23-25. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  doctrines  laid  down  in  these  sections  are  the  follow- 
ing:— 

1.  That  there  are  not  two  covenants  of  grace,  differing  in 

*  The  reader  will  find  a  summary  of  the  views  of  critics  on  this  subject  in 
a  long  and  able  article  by  Dr  Fraser,  appended  to  his  Translation  of  Witsius' 
Dissertations  on  the  Apostles'  Creed,  vol.  i.,  note  42.  The  learned  Professor 
Stuart  of  Andover  (in  his  Commentary  on  the  Hebrews)  also  mentions  the 
commentators  who  prefer  the  word  covenant  in  the  passage  referred  to,  and 
declares  that  "  his  difficulties  in  admitting  it  are  insuperable." 


if4>  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VII. 

substance,  but  that  the  Old  and  New  Testament  economies 
are  only  two  dispensations  of  the  same  covenant.  The  Jewish 
and  the  Christian  dispensation  are  meant  by  the  first  and 
second — the  old  and  new  covenant. — Heb.  viii.  7,  13. 

2.  That  believers  who  lived  under  the  old  dispensation,  as 
well  as  those  who  live  under  the  gospel,  were  saved  by  faith 
in  Christ,  and  lived  and  died  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  immor- 
tality. 

3.  That  the  New  Testament  dispensation  of  the  covenant 
of  grace  is,  in  many  respects,  superior  to  that  which  preceded 
the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh.  The  present  dispensation 
exceeds  the  past,  in  the  superior  clearness  of  its  manifesta- 
tions— in  its  substantial  ratification  by  the  death  of  Christ — 
in  the  more  abundant  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit — in  the 
introduction  of  a  more  spiritual  form  of  worship,  and  in  its 
extension  to  all  nations.* 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  let  us  reflect  how  admirably 
adapted  the  covenant  of  grace  is  to  the  situation  of  those 
who  are  ruined  by  the  violation  of  the  first  covenant.  Its 
condition  being  fulfilled  by  the  glorious  Surety,  a  full  salva- 
tion is  freely  offered  to  the  chief  of  sinners.  But  what  will 
it  avail  us  that  this  gracious  covenant  has  been  revealed, 
unless  we  obtain  a  personal  interest  in  it,  and  are  made  par- 
takers of  its  invaluable  blessings?  Let  us,  therefore,  "take 
hold  of  God's  covenant,"  and  let  us  labour  after  the  fullest 
evidence  of  our  interest  in  this  blessed  covenant.  Then, 
amid  all  the  troubles  of  life,  we  may  "  encourage  ourselves 
in  the  Lord  our  God ;"  and,  even  when  all  other  things  fail 
us,  we  may  experience  that  strong  consolation  which  David 
enjoyed  under  his  complicated  trials,  and  in  the  immediate 
prospect  of  dissolution ;  and  to  which  he  gave  utterance  in 
these  his  last  words :  "  Although  my  house  be  not  so  with 
God,  yet  he  hath  made  with  me  an  everlasting  covenant, 
ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure  j  this  is  all  my  salvation,  and 
all  my  desire." 

*  The  sameness  of  the  covenant  of  grace  under  both  dispensations,  the 
blessings  and  defects  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  superior  advantages  of  the 
New,  are  fully  discussed  by  Calvin  ( Institutes,  book  ii.,  ch.  9- 11),  and  by  Wit- 
sius  (Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  iv.,  ch.  11,  12,  13,  15). 


SECT.  1.]  OP  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  95 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR. 

Section  I. — It  pleased  God,  in  his  eternal  purpose, 
to  choose  and  ordain  the  Lord  Jesus,  his  only  begotten 
Son,  to  be  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man : x  the 
Prophet,2  Priest,3  and  King ; 4  the  Head  and  Saviour 
of  his  Church;5  the  Heir  of  all  things;6  and  Judge 
of  the  world:7  unto  whom  he  did  from  all  eternity 
give  a  people  to  be  his  seed,8  and  to  be  by  him  in 
time  redeemed,  called,  justified,  sanctified,  and  glori- 
fied.9 

1  Is.  xlii.  I.    1  Pet.  i.  19,  20.    John]  *  Acts  xvii.  31. 

iii.  16.     1  Tim.  ii.  5.  8  John  xvii.  6.     Ps.  xxii.  30.      Is. 

2  Acts  iii.  22.        3  Heb.  v.  5,  6.  liii.  10. 

*  Ps.  ii.  6.    Luke  i.  33.  I  9  1  Tim.  ii.  6.      Is.  lv.  4,  5.      1  Cor. 

6  Eph.  v.  23.        «  Heb.  i.  2.  i.  30. 

EXPOSITION. 

A  mediator  is  one  who  interposes  between  two  parties  at 
variance,  to  procure-a  reconciliation.  Before  the  fall,  there 
was  no  need  of  a  mediator  between  God  and  man  ;  for, 
though  there  was  an  infinite  distance  in  nature,  yet,  there 
was  no  variance  between  these  parties.  But  upon  the  fall 
the  case  was  altered  ;  God  was  dishonoured,  and  highly 
offended  ;  man  was  alienated  from  God,  and  subjected  to  his 
judicial  displeasure ;  and  as  man  was  unable  to  satisfy  the 
claims  of  the  divine  law  which  he  had  violated,  if  he  was  to 
be  restored  to  the  favour  of  his  offended  sovereign,  the 
interposition  of  another  person  was  requisite,  to  atone  for  his 
guilt,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  peace.  This  is  the  office 
and  work  assigned  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  one  mediator  between 
God  and  man  ;  and  the  present  section  relates  to  his  divine 
appointment  to  this  office,  and  the  donation  of  a  people  to 
him  as  his  seed. 

I.  It  pleased  God,  from  all  eternity,  to  choose  and  ordain 
the  Lord  Jesus,  his  only  begotten  Son,  to  be  the  mediator 
between  God  and  man.  God  being  the  party  offended  by 
the  sin  of  man,  to  him  belonged  the  right  of  admitting 
satisfaction  by  another  in  the  room  of  the  personal  trans- 
gressors. But  he  not  only  admitted  of  a  vicarious  satisfaction  ; 
he  also,  in  the  exercise  of  boundless  grace  and  unsolicited 


96  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

love,  provided  one  equal  to  the  arduous  undertaking,  in  the 
appointment  of  his  own  Son  to  his  mediatory  office.  Our 
Lord  did  not  engage  in  the  work  of  mediation  without  a 
special  call  and  commission  from  his  Father.  From  eter- 
nity he  was  chosen  and  appointed  to  execute  the  office  of 
mediator  between  God  and  man  ;  hence  he  is  said  to  be 
"set  up  from  everlasting,"  and  "fore-ordained  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world."— Prov.  viii.  23  ;  1  Pet.  i.  20.  When 
he  was  on  earth  he  often  declared,  that  what  he  did  in  ac- 
complishing the  work  of  our  redemption,  he  did  by  a  special 
commission  from  the  Father,  and  in  obedience  to  his  will. 
/  — John.  vi.  38.  The  divineajmpintment  of  Christ  to  his  media- 
\  tory  office  affords  a  striking  proof  of  the  love  of  the  Father, 
who  "  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins,"  and  lays  a  firm  foundation  for  our  trust  in  Christ. 
Without  the  appointment  of  his  Father,  his  work  would  not 
have  been  valid  in  law  for  our  redemption  ;  but  this  appoint- 
ment assures  us,  that  the  whole  work  of  his  mediation  is 
most  acceptable  to  God,  and  affords  us  the  highest  encourage- 
.-ment  to  rely  upon  his  finished  work  for  our  eternal  salvation. 
[       II.  The  Father,  from  all  eternity,  gave  to  Christ  a  people 

*  to  be  his  seed,  and  to  be  by  him  brought  to  glory.    That  a 

*  definite  number  of  mankind,  who  were  chosen  by  God  in  the 
exercise  of  rich  and  sovereign  grace,  were  given  to  Christ,  is 
manifest  from  the  distinction  made  betwixt  them  and  the 
world.  Christ  designates  them  "the  men  that  were  given] 
him  out  of  the  world,"  and  declares  that  he  prayed  "not  for  | 
the  world,  but  for  them  whom  the  Father  had  given  him." — ^ 
John  xvii.  6, 9.  In  these  passages  the  world  is  opposed  to  those 
that  were  given  to  Christ,  and  this  must  convince  every  un- 
prejudiced mind  that  the  persons  given  to  Christ  are  a  definite 
number,  selected  by  God  from  the  world  of  mankind.  They 
were  given  to  Christ  to  be  his  seed.  It  was  not  left  uncer- 
tain whether  Christ,  as  the  reward  of  his  mediatory  work, 
would  have  a  people  to  serve  him  ;  it  was  stipulated  that  he 
should  have  a  seed,  in  whom  he  would  see  the  travail  of  his 
soul. — Is.  liii.  10,  11.  They  were  given  to  him  that  he 
might  redeem  them,  and  bring  them  to  glory.  He  was  not 
merely  to  procure  for  them  a  possibility  of  salvation,  but  to 
secure  for  them  a  full  and  final  salvation  ;  and  none  that 
were  given  to  him  shall »be  lost.  "This  is  the  Father's  will 
which  hath  sent  me,"  says  Christ,  "  that  of  all  which  he  hath 
given  me  I  should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again 
at  the  last  day." — John.  vi.  39. 

Section  II. — The  Son  of  God,  the  second  person  in 


SECT.  2.]  OF  CHRTST  THE  MEDIATOR.  97 

the  Trinity,  being  very  and  eternal  God,  of  one  sub- 
stance, and  equal  with  the  Faither,  did,  when  the  fulness 
of  time  was  come,  take  upon  him  man's  nature,10  with  all 
the  essential  properties  and  common  infirmities  thereof, 
yet  without  sin; "  being  conceived  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  her 
substance.12  So  that  two  whole,  perfect,  and  distinct 
natures,  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  were  insepa- 
rably joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion, 
composition,  or  confusion.13  Which  person  is  very  God 
and  very  man,  yet  one  Christ,  the  only  Mediator  between 
God  and  man.14 

I  John  i.  1,14.     Uohnv.  20.   Phil.    |,sLukei.35.     Col.  ii.  9.     Rom.  ix. 
ii.  6.    Gal.  iv.  4.  5.     1  Pet.  iii.  18.     1  Tim.  iii.  16. 

II  Heb.  ii.  14,  16,  17  ;  iv.  15.  I  ]*  Rom.  i.  3,  4.    1  Tim.  ii.  5. 
12  Luke  i.  27,  31,  35.    Gal.  iv.  4.          | 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  constitution  of  the  person  of  the 
Mediator.  In  opposition  to  Socinians  and  Unitarians,  who 
maintain  that  Christ  was  merely  a  man,  and  had  no  exis- 
tence before  he  was  born  of  Alary;  and  in  opposition  to 
Arians,  who,  though  they  admit  the  pre-existence  of  Christ, 
maintain  that  he  is  a  creature,  and  existed  prior  to  his  in- 
carnation only  as  a  super-angelic  spirit ;  our  Confession 
teaches,  that  Christ  not  only  existed  before  his  incarnation, 
but  was  from  all  eternity  the  Son  of  God,  of  one  substance, 
and  equal  with  the  Father ;  and  that,  in  the  fulness  of  time, 
he  assumed  a  complete  human  nature  into  union  with  the 
divine,  so  that  he  is  both  very  God  and  very  man,  having 
two  distinct  natures,  yet  but  one  person. 

I.  Jesus  Christ  not  only  existed  prior  to  his  incarnation, 
but  is  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  of  one  substance  and  equal 
with  the  Father.  The  pre-existence  of  Christ  is  confirmed 
by  numerous  testimonies  of  Scripture.  That  he  existed  be- 
fore John  the  Baptist,  is  affirmed  by  John  himself,  who  "  bare 
witness  of  him,"  saying,  "JTe  that  cometh  after  me  is  pre- 
ferred before  me :  for  he  was  before  me." — John  i.  15.  That 
he  existed  before  Abraham  is  affirmed  by  Christ  himself,  who 
told  the  Jews,  "  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am." — John  viii.  58. 
That  he  existed  before  the  flood  is  evident  from  the  words 
of  the  Apostle  Peter,  who  affirms,  that  by  the  Spirit  Christ 
"  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison  ;  which  some- 
time were  disobedient,  when  once  the  longsuffering  of  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a-preparing." — 
G 


98  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20.  That  he  existed  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world  is  no  less  evident,  for  the  Scripture  teaches  us  that 
all  things  were  created  by  him,  and  in  his  valedictory  prayer 
he  thus  expressed  himself:  "Now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou  me 
with  thine  own  self  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was." — John  xvii.  5.  Christ  also  declares 
that  he  "  came  down  from  heaven,"  and  speaks  of  his  "  as- 
cending up  where  he  was  before "  (John  iii.  15,  vi.  62) ; 
which  clearly  imports,  that  he  had  a  residence  in  heaven 
before  he  took  our  nature.* 

We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  what  that  nature  was  in 
which  Christ  subsisted  prior  to  his  incarnation.  We  are  as- 
sured that  "  he  was  in  the  form  of  God,  and  thought  it  not 
robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;"  that  "  in  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God." — Phil.  ii.  6  ;  John  i.  1.  But  the  supreme  Deity  of 
Christ  has  been  established  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and  we 
shall  not  now  resume  that  subject.  It  will  be  proper,  how- 
ever, in  this  place,  t©  offer  a  few  remarks  concerning  the 
Sonship  of  Christ.  The  title  of  sons  of  God  is  applied  in 
Scripture  to  various  orders  of  beings,  but  Christ  is  styled  the 
Son  of  God  in  a  sense  altogether  peculiar  to  himself ;  hence  he 
is  called  God's  own  "Son — his  proper  Son — the  only  begotten 
of  the  Father.  His  Sonship  is  not  founded  upon  his  mission, 
nor  upon  his  miraculous  conception,  nor  upon  his  resurrection, 
as  is  supposed  by  many;  but  he  is  the  Son  of  God  by  an  eter- 
nal, necessary,  and  ineffable  generation.  This  truth  is  con- 
tinued by  many  passages  of  Scripture,  the  application  of 
which  to  the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  of  God  has  been 
vindicated  by  many  learned  divines.^  We  can  only  refer  the 
reader  to  Ps.  ii.  7  ;  Pro  v.  viii.  24,  25  ;  Mic.  v.  2  ;  John  i.  14. 
The  denial  of  our  Lord's  eternal  Sonship  tends  to  subvert 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  it  also  throws  a  veil  over  the 
glory  of  the  work  of  redemption  ;  for  the  grace  of  the  second 
person  in  becoming  incarnate,  obeying,  and  suffering — the 
love  of  the  first  in  sending  him,  and  delivering  him  up  to  suf- 
ferings and  death  for  us — and  the  infinite  value  of  his  atone- 
ment, are  all  in  Scripture  made  to  turn  upon  his  essential 
dignity  as  the  Son  of  God.  We  cannot  pretend  to  explain 
the  manner  of  the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  ;  but  to  deny 
it  upon  the  ground  that  it  is  incomprehensible  by  us  would 
be  preposterous  ;  for,  upon  the  same  ground,  we  might  as 

*  The  pre-existence  of  Christ  is  ably  treated  in  Archbishop  Magee's  cele- 
brated work  on  Atonement, — Illustrations,  No.  I;  Hill's  Lectures,  vol  i. 
p.  '283  ;  Wilson  on  the  Person  of  Christ,  ch.  ii. 

t  See  Witsiuson  the  Creed,  Diss.  12;  Gib's  Contemplations,  pp.  207-227. 


SECT.  2.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  99 

well  deny  the  subsistence  of  three  distinct  persons  in  one 
Godhead.  Though  the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  be  to 
us  an  inconceivable  mystery,  yet  of  one  thing  we  are  certain, 
that  it  necessarily  implies  the  Son's  equality  with  the  Father. 
The  Jews  understood  our  Lord's  claim  to  Sonship  as  a  claim 
to  equality  with  the  Father,  and  consequently  to  proper  Deity  ; 
and  he  sanctioned  the  interpretation  which  they  put  upon 
his  words,  by  declaring,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one." — John 
x.  30,  33. 

II.  In  the  fulness  of  time,  the  Son  of  God  assumed  a  com- 
plete human  nature  into  union  with  his  divine  person.  '  This 
article  of  our  faith  has  been  opposed  by  heretics  of  various 
descriptions,and  the  statements  of  our  Confession  are  intended 
to  meet  the  heresies  which  have  been  broached  in  different 
periods. 

1.  The  Son  of  God  took  upon  him  man's  nature — a  real 
and  perfect  humanity.  In  the  primitive  times  of  the  Chris-  j 
tian  Church  this  was  denied  by  various  sects,  called  Docetse,  ' 
who  held  that  Christ  had  not  a  real,  but  a  mere  shad"owy 
body;  while  others,  in  later  times,  affirmed  that  Christ  had 
a  body,  but  not  a  soul.*  But  the  Scriptures  declare  that 
"  the  Word  was  made  flesh," — that  "  God  sent  forth  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman" — and  that, "  forasmuch  as  the  children  are 
partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  himself  likewise  took  part  of 
the  same."  It  would  be  impossible  to  find  language  that 
could  more  explicitly  assert  the  reality  of  Christ's  human 
nature.  His  apostles,  who  were  admitted  to  familiar  con- 
verse with  him,  were  certain  that  it  was  not  a  mere  phantom 
which  they  beheld,  and  were  as  fully  persuaded  of  the  reality 
of  his  body  as  of  their  own.  "  We  have  looked  upon,  and 
our  hands  have  handled  the  Word  of  life." — 1  John  i.  1. 
That  Christ  had  a  human  soul  is  equally  unquestionable. 
He  "  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature  ;"  the  one  in  respect 
of  his  body,  the  other  in  respect  of  his  soul.  In  his  agony, 
he  said,  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death;" 
and  on  the  cross,  he  committed  it  to  his  Father,  saying, 
"  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit." 

2.  Christ  was  subject  to  the  common  infirmities  of  our 
nature,  but  was  altogether  without  sin.  He  was  subject  to 
hunger  and  thirst,  to  weariness  and  pain,  and  other  natural 
infirmities.     On  this  account,  he  is  said  to  have  been  sent 

*  The  Arians  and  Eunomians  held  that  Christ  had  no  part  of  the  human 
nature,  except  merely  the  flesh  ;  but  that  the  place  of  the  soul  was  supplied 
by  the  indwelling  of  the  Word.  The  Appollinarians  distinguished  man  into 
three  parts— the  body,  the  sensible  soul,  and  the  rational  sold  ;  the  latter 
they  held  Christ  did  not  possess,  but  the  Word  was  substituted  in  its  place.*- 
Newland's  Analysis  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  p.  57. 


100  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

into  the  world  "  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh." — Rom.  viii.  3. 
But  it  was  only  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  for  he  had  no  sin 
in  reality ;  hence  he  is  called  "  the  holy  one,"  "  the  holy 
child  Jesus,"  and  "a lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot." 
The  perfect  purity  of  our  Lord's  human  nature  was  neces- 
sary to  qualify  him  for  his  mediatory  work;  for  if  he  had 
been  himself  a  sinner,  he  could  not  have  satisfied  for  the 
sins  of  others.  "  Such  an  high  priest  became  us,  who  is 
holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separated  from  sinners." — 
Heb.  vii.  26. 

3.  The  human  nature  of  Christ  was  conceived  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and 
was  formed  of  her  substance.  The  body  of  Christ  was  not 
created  out  of  nothing,  neither  did  it  descend  from  heaven, 
but  was  formed,  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  the 
substance  of  the  Virgin;  hence  Mary  is  called  the  mother 
of  Jesus,  and  he  is  called  "  the  fruit  of  her  womb,"  and  "  the 
seed  of  the  woman."  * — Luke  i.  42,  43;  Gen.  iii.  15. 

4.  The  Son  of  God  assumed  the  human  nature  into  union 
with  the  divine,  so  that  two  distinct  natures,  the  Godhead 
and  the  manhood,  are  inseparably  joined  together  in  one  per- 
son.    This  is  asserted  in  opposition  to  certain  errors  which  . 
were  broached  in  the  fifth  century.     The  Nestorians  held  I 
that  in  Christ,  "  there  were  two  persons,  of  which  the  one  was   j 
divine,  even  the  eternal  Word  ;  and  the  other,  which  was    | 
human,  was  the  man  Jesus."     A  strong  aversion  to  this  error 
led  the  Eutychians  into  the  opposite  extreme.     They  taught 
that  in  Christ  ■"there  was  but  one  nature;"  his  human  nature 
being  absorbed  by  the  divine.f    That  the  Godhead  and  the 
manhood  are  united  in  the  one  person  of  Christ,  is  confirmed 
by  all   those  passages   of  Scripture   which   speak   of  two 
natures  as  belonging  to  our  Saviour. — Isa.  ix.  6;  Rom.  ix.  5; 
Matt.  i.  18.     The  human  nature  of  Christ  never  had  a  sepa-  ^v 
rate  subsistence  or  personality  of  its  own,  but,  from  its  first 
formation,  was  united  to,  and   subsisted  in,   the  person  of 
the  Son  of  God.    This  is  called  the  hypostatical  or  personal 
union.  Though  this  is  an  intimate  union,  yet  the  two  natures 
are  not  confounded,  but  each  retains  its  own  essential  pro- 
perties.    But,  in  consequence  of  this  union,  the  attributes 
and  acts  which  are  proper  to  one  nature  are  ascribed  to  the 
person   of  Christ.     He  could  only  obey  and  suffer  in  the 
human  nature,  but  his  obedience  and  sufferings  are  predi- 

*  Besides  some  ancient  heretics,  certain  Anabaptists,  who  appeared  in  Eng- 
land about  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  asserted  that  Christ  brought  down 
his  human  nature  from  heaven,  and  that  it  only  passed  through  Mary,  as  the 
beams  of  the  sun  through  glass. 

t  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist.,  cent,  v.,  p.  2,  ch.  5. 


SECT.  3.]  OP  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR. 


101 


cated  of  him  as  the  Son  of  God — as  the  Lord  of  glory. — Heb. 
v.  8;  1  Cor.  ii.  8.  To  represent  our  Saviour  as  having  a 
human  person  distinct  from  his  Godhead,  is  to  divest  his 
obedience  and  sufferings  of  their  inherent  value,  and  conse- 
quently, to  subvert  the  grand  doctrine  of  the  redemption  of 
the  Church  by  his  blood.  It  is,  therefore,  a  most  important 
article  of  our  faith,  that  our  blessed  Saviour  is  *  very  God 
and  very  man,  yet  one  Christ."*  To  this  it  is  subjoined,  that 
he  is  "the  one  mediator  between  God  and  man."  The 
Papists  would  associate  saints  and  angels  with  Christ  in  the 
work  of  mediation.  They  allow,  indeed,  that  Christ  is  the 
only  mediator  of  redemption,  but  they  allege  that  there  are 
other  mediators  of  intercession.  But  the  Scripture  makes 
no  such  distinction;  on  the  contrary,  it  expressly  asserts  that 
there  is  only  one  mediator,  as  there  is  only  owe  God. — 1  Tim. 
ii.  5. 

Section  III. — The  Lord  Jesus,  in  his  human  nature 
thus  united  to  the  divine,  was  sanctified  and  anointed 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  above  measure;15  having  in  him 
all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge ; 16  in  whom 
it  pleased  the  Father  that  all  fulness  should  dwell : 17  tc 
the  end,  that  being  holy,  harmless,  undenled,  and  full  of 
grace  and  truth,18  he  might  be  thoroughly  furnished  to 
execute  the  office  of  a  Mediator  and  Surety.19  Which 
office  he  took  not  unto  himself,  but  was  thereunto  called 
by  his  Father;20  who  put  all  power  and  judgment  into 
his  hand  and  gave  him  commandment  to  execute  the 


same.21 

16  Ps.  xlv.  7.  John  iii.  34. 
J6  Col.  ii.  3.  17  Col.  i.  19. 
»8  Heb..vii.  26.  John  i.  14. 
19  Acts  x.  38.    Heb.  xii.  24 ;  vii.  22. 


20  Heb.  v.  4,  5. 

21  John  v.  22,  27. 

Acts  ii.  36. 


Matt,  xxviii. 


EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  qualification  of  Christ  for  his 
mediatory  work.  The  Father,  who  called  him  to  this  work, 
furnished  him  with  all  requisite  qualifications  for  its  per- 
formance. Not  only  did  he  "  prepare  a  body  for  him,"  that 
he  might  be  capable  of  suffering  and  dying ;  he  also  con- 
ferred upon  his  human  nature  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  an  immeasurable  degree,  that  he  might  be 
thoroughly  furnished  to  execute  his  mediatorial  office.  "  God 
giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him." — John  iii.  34. 

*  On  this  subject  the  reader  may  consult  Hurrion's  Sermons,  vol.  i. ;  and 
Owen  on  the  Person  of  Christ,  chap,  xviii. 


1 02  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  VIIL- 

In  his  miraculous  conception,  his  human  nature  was  formed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  with  initial  grace  in  its  highest  degree  of 
perfection  ;  and  when  about  to  enter  upon  his  public  minis- 
try in  our  nature,  to  seal  his  commission,  and  to  qualify  him 
in  that  nature  for  his  work,  the  Spirit  descended  upon  him 
in  a  bodily  shape.* — Luke  iii.  21,  22. 

Section  IV. — This  office  the  Lord  Jesus  did  most 
willingly  undertake;22  which  that  he  might  discharge, 
he  was  made  under  the  law,23  and  did  perfectly  fulfil  it  ;24 
endured  most  grievous  torments  immediately  in  his  soul,25 
and  most  painful  sufferings  in  his  body;26  was  crucified, 
and  died;27  was  buried,  and  remained  under  the  power 
of  death,  yet  saw  no  corruption.28  On  the  third  day  he 
arose  from  the  dead,29  with  the  same  body  in  which  he 
suffered;30  with  which  also  he  ascended  into  heaven, 
and  there  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,31 
making  intercession;32  and  shall  return  to  judge  men 
and  angels  at  the  end  of  the  world.33 

22  Ps.  xl.  7,  8.     Heb.  x.  5-10.     John  I  28  Acts  ii.  23,  24,  27.     Acts  xiii.  37. 

x.  18.     Phil.  ii.  8.  Rom.  vi.  9. 

88  Gal.  iv.  4.  I  29  1  Cor.  xv.  3-5.     30  John  xx.  25,27. 

**  Matt.  iii.  15;  v.  17.  I  "  Mark  xvi.  19. 

25  Matt  xxvi.  37,  38.     Luke  xxii.  44.      32  Rom.  viii.  34.    Heb.  ix.  24 ;  vii.  25. 


Matt,  xxvii.  46.  |  33  Rom.   xiv.   9.10.     Acts  i.  11 

88  Matt.  xxvi.  xxvii.  42.     Matt.  xiii.  40-42.    Jude  6. 

27  Phil.  ii.  8.  2  Pet-,  ii.  4. 

EXPOSITION. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Christ  was  called  by  the  Father 
to  his  mediatory  office,  and  we  are  now  told  that  he  willingly 
undertook  this  office.  He  could  be  under  no  obligation  to 
discharge  this  office  previous  to  his  own  consent;  but  in  the 
will  of  his  Father  he  cheerfully  acquiesced.  He  was  under 
no  constraint,  but  that  of  his  own  love;  and  in  undertaking 
and  executing  his  mediatory  work,  he  displayed  a  love  which 
surpasses  knowledge. — Eph.  iii.  19. 

It  demands  our  special  attention,  that  Christ  "  engaged  his 
heart  to  approach  unto  God "  as  the  surety  of  sinners — not, 
indeed,  of  mankind  sinners  universally,  but  only  of  those 
whom  the  Father  gave  to  him,  and  whom  he  received  as  his 
spiritual  seed.  The  present  section  is  closely  connected  with 
the  preceding,  and  affirms  that  Christ  willingly  undertook 
the  office,  not  only  of  a  mediator,  but  also  of  a  surety.  A 
surety  is  one  who  engages  to  pay  a  debt,  or  to  suffer  a  pen- 
alty, incurred  by  another.  Such  a  surety  is  our  Lord  Jesus 
*  See  Owen  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  book  ii.,  ch.  4. 


SECT.  2.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  103 

Christ.  He  undertook,  in  the  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  re- 
sponsible to  the  law  and  justice  of  God  for  that  boundless 
debt  which  his  elect  were  bound  to  pay.  And  having  be- 
come their  surety,  by  his  Father's  appointment  and  his  own 
voluntary  engagement,  their  guilt  was  legally  transferred  to 
him,  and  all  his  obedience  and  sufferings  in  their  nature  were 
vicarious,  or  in  the  room  of  those  whom  he  represented  be- 
fore God.  "  Our  Lord's  suretyship  is  denied  by  the  Soci- 
nians,  who  maintain,  that  he  did  not  suffer  and  die  in  our 
stead,  but  only  for  our  good  ;  or  to  confirm  his  doctrine,  and 
to  leave  us  an  example  of  patience  and  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God  under  our  sufferings.  His  proper  suretyship  is 
also  denied  by  the  Neonomians,  who  maintain,  that '  he  only 
satisfied  divine  justice  for  sinners,  in  so  far  as  it  was  neces- 
sary to  render  it  consistent  with  God's  honour  to  enter  into 
lower  terms  of  salvation  with  them.'  And  it  is  likewise  de- 
nied by  all  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
putation of  our  sins  to  Christ,  and  are  the  advocates  of  a 
general  and  indefinite  atonement."*  They  may  speak  of 
Christ  as  the  substitute  of  sinners,  and  of  his  sufferings  as 
vicarious,  but  the  doctrine  of  his  proper  suretyship,  which 
necessarily  involves  the  imputation  to  him  of  the  guilt  of  his 
people,  and  his  endurance  of  the  punishment  which  they  had 
incurred,  can  have  no  place  in  their  system.     In  Scripture, 

however,  the  term  surety  is  expressly  applied  to  Christ 

Heb.  vii.  22.  That  the  sins  of  his  people  were  imputed  to 
him,  is  plainly  affirmed  :  "  The  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all." — Isa.  liii.  6.  It  is  declared,  that  Christ  suffered 
for  sins,  for  the  unjust,  for  the  transgressions  of  his  people  ; 
which  necessarily  supposes  that  he  was  charged  with  their 
guilt. — 1  Pet.  iii.  18  ;  Isa.  liii.  8.  All  the  sacrifices  offered 
by  divine  appointment,  under  the  legal  dispensation,  were 
typical  of  the  death  of  Christ ;  but  all  the  legal  sacrifices 
were  vicarious — the  guilt  of  the  offender  was  transferred  to 
the  sin-offering,  which  was  signified  by  laying  his  hands  on 
the  head  of  the  victim  ;  and,  to  show  that  the  type  is  realized 
in  our  Lord's  substitution  in  the  room  of  his  people,  he  is 
said  to  have  borne  their  sins  in  his  body  on  the  tree. — 1  Pet. 
ii.  24.  It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  Christ,  in  consistency  with  the  goodness  and  equity 
of  God,  in  any  other  way  than  by  admitting  the  doctrine  of 
his  suretyship  ;  for,  he  had  no  sin  of  his  own,  and  must, 
therefore,  have  suffered  in  the  stead  of  others,  that  he  might 
make  a  proper  satisfaction  to  divine  justice  for  their  sins. 
This  alone  lays  a  foundation  for  the  imputation  of  Christ's 
*  Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  p.  140. 


104  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

satisfaction  to  his  people.  He  obeyed  and  suffered  as  their 
surety  ;  and,  upon  this  ground,  what  he  did  and  suffered  is 
placed  to  their  account,  and  becomes  effectual  for  their  sal- 
vation.— 2  Cor.  v.  21. 

This  section  further  states  what  Christ  did  in  the  discharge 
of  his  mediatory  office,  and  that  both  in  his  humbled  and  in 
his  exalted  state.     In  the  former  state — 

1.  He  was  made  under  the  law,  and  did  perfectly  fulfil  it. 
The  law  under  which  Christ  was  made  was  the  moral  law, 
not  as  a  rule  of  life,  but  under  the  form  of  a  covenant,  de- 
manding perfect  obedience  as  the  condition  of  life,  and  full 
satisfaction  for  man's  transgression.  Christ  was  not  origi- 
nally a  debtor  to  the  law,  but  he  voluntarily  came  into  a  state 
of  subjection  to  it,  as  the  surety  of  sinners  ;  and  he  both  ful- 

L  filled  its  precept  and  endured  its  penalty.  All  his  obedience 
and  sufferings,  as  the  subject  of  law,  were  in  no  respect  for 
himself,  but  entirely  in  the  stead  of  his  people;  and  by  his 
service,  the  law  was  not  merely  fulfilled,  but  magnified  and 
made  honourable. — Isa.  xlii.  21. 

/-  2.  He  suffered  both  in  soul  and  in  body.  His  sufferings 
were  various  in  kind,  and  extreme  in  degree.  Throughout 
his  life,  he  was  "  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief."  He  suffered  much  from  men,  not  only  from  avowed 
enemies,  but  also  from  pretended  friends,  and  even  from  his 
own  disciples.  He  was  also  assailed  by  Satan's  temptations. 
But,  besides  what  he  endured  by  the  agency  of  creatures,  he 
suffered  from  the  more  immediate  hand  of  God  himself  as  a 
rectoral  judge.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  and  to  put 
him  to  grief."  As  Socinians  deny  the  penal  nature  of  our 
Lord's  sufferings,  so  they  limit  them  to  what  he  endured 
through  the  agency  of  creatures  ;  but  unless  we  admit  that 
he  suffered  in  his  soul  from  the  immediate  hand  of  God,  as  an 
offended  judge,  exacting  of  him  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of 
those  whose  cause  he  had  undertaken,  we  cannot  account  for 
his  dreadful  agony  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  for  his 
bitter  lamentation  on  the  cross.  He  sustained,  for  a  season, 
the  loss  of  the  sensible  manifestations  of  his  Father's  love, 
and  the  awful  pressure  of  God's  judicial  displeasure  on 
account  of  sin.  This  it  was  that  drew  from  him  these  dole- 
ful complaints  :  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death  ;"  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" 
Well  might  he  adopt  the  language  of  his  suffering  Church, 
with  an  emphasis  altogether  peculiar  to  himself :  "  Behold, 
and  see,  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow,  which 
is  done  unto  me,  wherewith  the  Lord  hath  afflicted  me  in  the 
day  of  his  fierce  anger." — Lam.  i.  12. 


SECT.  4,]  OP  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  103 

3.  He  was  crucified,  and  died.  Death  was  the  penalty  of 
the  law,  and  the  just  wages  of  sin  ;  death,  therefore,  behoved 
to  be  endured  by  the  surety  of  sinners.  Though  Christ  had 
obeyed  the  precept  of  the  law,  and  endured  the  most  exquisite 
sufferings  in  the  course  of  his  life,  yet,  had  he  not  submitted 
to  death,  all  had  been  unavailing  for  our  redemption.  But, 
"  he  became  obedient  unto  death  ;"  and  the  death  to  which 
he  was  subjected  was,  of  all  others,  the  most  lingering,  the 
most  painful,  and  the  most  ignominious,  "  even  the  death  of 
the  cross."  It  was  also  an  accursed  death;  for  it  was  written 
in  the  Jewish  law, "  He  that  is  hanged  is  accursed  of  God." — 
Deut.  xxi.  23.  A  curse  seems  to  have  been  annexed  to  this 
mode  of  execution,  in  order  to  signify  beforehand  the  curse 
under  which  Christ  lay  when  he  underwent  this  kind  of  death. 
— Gal.  iii.  10.  His  death  was  violent,  in  respect  of  the  instru- 
mentality of  men,  who  "slew  him  with  wicked  hands  ;"  but, 
on  his  own  part,  it  was  voluntary. — John  x.  18.  And,  let  us 
never  forget,  that  his  death  was  vicarious;  for,  if  if  had  not 
possessed  this  character,  we  could  have  derived  no  higher 
benefit  from  his  death  than  from  that  of  prophets,  apostles, 
and  martyrs.  "  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  according  to  the 
Scriptures." — 1  Cor.  xv.  3. 

4.  He  was  buried,  and  remained  under  the  power  of  death 
for  a  time.  Had  he  revived  as  soon  as  he  was  taken  down 
from  the  cross,  his  enemies  might  have  pretended  that  he 
was  not  really  dead,  and  his  friends  would  not  have  had 
sufficient  evidence  that  he  was  actually  dead.  Therefore,  to 
prove  the  reality  of  his  death,  upon  which  the  hopes  and  hap- 
piness of  his  people  depend,  he  was  laid  in  a  sepulchre,  and 
continued  under  the  power  of  death  for  three  days  and  three 
nights.  He  was  buried,  also,  to  sanctify  the  grave  to  his 
followers,  that  it  might  be  to  them  a  place  of  repose,  where 
their  bodies  may  rest  till  the  resurrection. 

Let  us  think  of  the  dreadful  malignity  and  awful  desert  of 
sin,  which  was  the  procuring  cause  of  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  our  Saviour.  Let  us  admire  "  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  be- 
came poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich." 
And  though  it  was  only  in  the  human  nature  that  he  was 
capable  of  suffering  and  dying,  let  us  never  forget  the  dignity 
of  his  person.  He  who  was  crucified  on  Calvary,  was  "  the 
Lord  of  glory,"  and  when  he  lay  in  Joseph's  tomb,  he  was 
still  "  the  Lord."— 1  Cor.  ii.  8;  Matt,  xxviii.  6. 

The  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  testi- 
fied beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that 
should  follow;  his  humiliation  was,  accordingly,  succeeded  by 


106  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

a  glorious  exaltation,  both  that  he  might  receive  inconceivable 
glory  for  himself,  as  the  reward  of  his  work  on  earth,  and 
also  that  he  might  continue  to  exercise  all  his  mediatory 
offices  for  the  good  of  his  Church.  The  several  steps  of  his 
exaltation  are  here  enumerated,  on  each  of  which  we  shall 
offer  a  few  brief  remarks. 

1.  He  rose  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  The  resur- 
rection of  Christ  was  necessary,  that  ancient  predictions 
might  be  fulfilled,  and  ancient  types  realized;  and,  also,  that 
we  might  be  assured  of  the  perfection  of  that  satisfaction 
and  righteousness  which  he  finished  upon  the  cross.  His 
resurrection  is  a  well  attested  fact.  The  number  of  the  wit- 
nesses was  amply  sufficient — they  could  not  be  themselves 
deceived,  and  it  is  equally  incredible  that  they  could  intend 
to  deceive  others — they  gave  the  best  proof  men  could  give 
that  they  firmly  believed  what  they  testified;  for  they  pub- 
lished the  fact  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  and  many  of  them 
sealed  their  testimony  with  their  blood.  Christ  rose  with 
the  same  body  that  had  been  crucified  and  laid  in  the  grave; 
this  was  evinced  by  its  bearing  the  marks  of  the  wounds 
which  he  received  by  the  nails  and  the  spear — John  xx.  20. 
The  disciples  were  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord,  and  his 
resurrection  is  a  source  of  unspeakable  joy  to  his  followers 
in  every  age.  His  supreme  Deity  was  thereby  vindicated — 
his  divine  mission  and  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  which  he 
taught  was  fully  confirmed — the  sufficiency  and  acceptable- 
ness  of  the  sacrifice  which  he  offered  up  was  attested — incon- 
testable evidence  was  given  of  his  decisive  victory  over  death 
and  the  grave — and  believers  have  now  a  certain  pledge  and 
infallible  assurance  of  their  joyful  resurrection  to  eternal 
life. 
•"  2.  He  ascended  into  heaven.  After  his  resurrection,  he 
continued  forty  days  on  earth,  that  he  might  afford  his  dis- 
ciples infallible  proofs  of  his  being  alive  after  his  passion, 
and  that  he  might  instruct  them  in  the  things  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  He  then  ascended  from  the  mount 
called  Olivet,  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples,  attended  by  a 
glorious  retinue  of  angels,  by  a  local  translation  of  his  human 
nature  from  earth  to  heaven,  into  which  he  was  welcomed 
by  the  shouts  and  acclamations  of  its  inhabitants.  Ps.  xlvii. 
,  5.  He  ascended  on  high,  that  he  might  take  possession  of 
/  the  glory  which  he  had  so  justly  merited;  that  he  might 
send  down  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  miraculous  gifts  and  sanc- 
tifying influences  upon  his  Church  and  people ;  that  he  might 
rule,  govern,  and  defend  his  people,  as  their  exalted  king ; 
that  he  might  make  powerful  intercession  for  them ;  and 


SECT.  4.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  107 

that  he  might  prepare  a  place  for  them,  and  take  possession 
of  the  heavenly  inheritance  in  their  name. 

3.  He  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  This  phrase  must 
obviously  be  understood  in  a  figurative  sense  ;  for  God, 
being  a  spirit,  has  no  bodily  parts.  Among  men,  the  right 
hand  is  the  place  of  honour  and  respect,  and  Christ  is  repre- 
sented as  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  to  denote  the 
inconceivable  dignity  and  glory  to  which,  as  God-man,  he  is 
now  advanced,  and  the  sovereign  authority  and  dominion 
with  which  he  is  invested. — Eph.  i.  20, 22.  His  sitting  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  implies  the  perfection  of  his  rest,  his 
security  from  all  adversaries,  and  the  everlasting  continu- 
ance of  his  glorious  state. — Heb.  x.  12. 

Is  Christ  so  highly  exalted  ?  Then  we  have  no  reason  to 
be  ashamed  of  the  cross  of  Christ;  for  he  who  "  endured  the 
cross  is  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 
We  may  be  assured  of  the  preservation  of  his  Church  on  earth, 
and  that  all  the  plots  of  his  and  her  enemies  must  prove  vain 
devices. — Ps.  ii.  1-4.  And,  as  Christ  ascended  and  sat 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  as  the  head  and  representa- 
tive of  his  people,  in  his  exaltation  they  may  behold  the 
pledge  and  pattern  of  their  own  exaltation. — Eph.  ii.  6. 

4.  He  is  now  making  intercession  for  his  people.  His  in- 
tercession consists  in  his  appearing  before  God  in  the  nature 
and  name  of  his  people,  presenting  the  merit  of  his  atoning 
sacrifice  as  the  ground  of  his  pleadings  in  their  behalf,  and 
intimating  his  desire  to  the  Father,  in  a  manner  suited  to 
his  exalted  state,  that  the  blessings  which  he  has  purchased 
for  them  may  be  enjoyed  by  them.  He  intercedes,  "  not  for 
the^vorld,  but  for  them  which  the  Father  hath  given  him ;" 
andlie  pleads  for  every  one  of  them  particularly,  in  a  suitable- 
ness to  their  diversified  circumstances. — John  xvii.  9 ;  Luke 
xxii.  32.  His  intercession  is  as  extensive  as  the  promises 
of  the  new  covenant,  and  the  blessings  which  he  hath  pur- 
chased by  his  death ;  particularly,  he  prays  that  those  who 
are  not  yet  converted  may  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth;  that  the  converted  may  be  preserved  in  a  state 
of  grace,  and  upheld  in  the  hour  of  temptation;  that  their 
persons  and  services  may  be  accepted  with  God;  that  they 
may  be  progressively  sanctified;  and  that  they  may,  in  due 
time,  be  glorified. — John  xvii.  His  intercession  is  ever  pre- 
valent and  successful. — Ps.  xxi.  2 ;  John  xi.  42.  The  pre- 
valent efficacy  of  his  intercession  may  be  inferred  from  the 
dignity  of  his  person,  and  the  endearing  relation  in  which  he 
stands  to  the  Father.  Not  only  is  the  advocate  dear  to  the 
Father,  but  the  clients  for  whom  he  pleads  are  also  the  ob- 


108  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

jects  of  the  Father's  special  love. — John  xvi.  27.  Christ's 
pleadings  in  their  behalf  are  always  conformable  to  his  Fa- 
ther's will — they  are  founded  upon  the  sacrifice  which  he 
offered  up,  with  which  the  Father  has  declared  himself  well 
pleased ;  the  Father  has  also  bound  himself  by  promise  to 
grant  unto  Christ  all  his  requests,  and  his  covenant  shall 
stand  fast  with  him,  and  his  faithfulness  shall  not  fail.  This 
should  engage  us  to  love  Christ  with  a  supreme  affection ; 
it  should  attract  our  hearts  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  fix 
our  affections  and  desires  on  things  above ;  it  should  encou- 
rage us  to  "  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace;"  and  it 
should  constrain  us  to  live  to  Christ,  to  plead  his  cause,  and 
promote  his  interests  on  earth. 

5.  He  shall  return  to  judge  men  and  angels  at  the  end  of 
the  world.  This  is  a  truth  clearly  revealed,  and  fully  at- 
tested in  the  Sacred  Records.  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam, 
foretold  it  in  solemn  language. — Jude  14.  The  Old  Tes- 
tament Scriptures  abound  with  promises  of  the  second  as 
well  as  of  the  first  coming  of  Christ — Ps.  1.  3,  xcvi.  13, 
xcviii.  9.  The  apostles,  with  one  voice,  proclaim  this  truth. 
— 1  Thess.  iv.  16 ;  2  Thess.  i.  7-9.  Angels  bear  witness  to 
the  same  truth — Acts  i.  11.  It  is  confirmed  by  the  infal- 
lible testimony  of  Christ  himself.— Matt.  xxvi.  64 ;  Rev. 
xxii.  7,  12,  20.  He  will  come  personally  and  visibly — with 
great  power  and  glory.  The  time  of  his  coming,  though  fixed 
in  the  councils  of  heaven,  is  to  us  unknown;  but  it  will  be 
sudden  and  unexpected,  and  should  be  regarded  by  us  as 
near  at  hand. — Matt.  xxv.  13;  James  v.  8,  9.  The  great 
end  of  his  coming  is  to  judge  tbe  world,  when  he  will  pro- 
nounce the  final  doom  of  angels  and  men,  and  will  consum- 
mate the  salvation  of  his  people. — Heb.  ix.  28. 

We  should  accustom  ourselves  to  frequent  and  serious 
thoughts  about  the  coming  of  our  Lord;  for  it  is  an  event  in 
which  we  are  deeply  interested,  since  "  we  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ ;  that  every  one  may  re- 
ceive the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  We  should  occupy  our 
talents  till  our  Lord  come,  that  we  may  receive  from  him 
that  best  of  plaudits — "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Let  us  endea- 
vour to  maintain  the  Christian  graces  in  lively  and  vigorous 
exercise,  and  to  be  always  in  a  posture  of  preparation  for 
the  coming  of  Christ. — Luke  xii.  35,  36.  And,  let  us  "  abide 
in  him,  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  may  have  confidence, 
and  not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his  coming." — 1  John  ii.  2S.* 
*  See  Hurrion's  Sermons,  vol.  ii. 


SECT.  5.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  109 

Section  V. — The  Lord  Jesus,  by  his  perfect  obedience 
and  sacrifice  of  himself,  which  he  through  the  eternal 
Spirit  once  offered  up  unto  God,  hath  fully  satisfied  the 
justice  of  his  Father; 34  and  purchased  not  only  recon- 
ciliation, but  an  everlasting  inheritance  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  for  all  those  whom  the  Father  hath  given 
unto  him.35 

s*  Rom.  v.   19.     Hebrews  ix.  14,  16 ;  I  3S  Dan.   ix.   24,  26.     Col.  i.   19,  20. 
x.   14.     Eph.  v.   2.     Rom.   iii.  Kph.  i.  11,   14.    John  xvii.  2. 

25,26.  |  Heb.  ix.  12,  15. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  ends  gained,  or  the  effects  ac- 
complished, by  the  obedience  and  sacrifice  of  Christ.  It  is 
affirmed — 

1.  That  he  hath  fully  satisfied  the  justice  of  his  Father. 
Retributive  justice  is  essential  to  God,  as  a  moral  governor ; 
and  the  exercise  of  it,  upon  the  entrance  of  sin,  was  indis- 
pensably necessary.  Christ,  as  the  surety  of  those  whom  the 
Father  had  given  unto  him,  made  a  true  and  proper  satisfac- 
tion to  divine  justice,  by  enduring  in  their  stead  the  very 
punishment  which  their  sins  deserved.  "  He  put  away  sin 
by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  "  He  finished  transgression, 
made  an  end  of  sins,  and  made  reconciliation  for  iniquity." 
"  He  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
made  a  curse  for  us." — Heb.  ix.  26;  Dan.  ix.  24;  Gal.  iii.  13. 

"  Our  Lord's  sufferings,  as  our  surety,  possessed  everything 
requisite  to  a  true  and  proper  satisfaction  for  sin;  he  suffered 
by  the  appointment  of  God,  who  alone  had  a  right  to  admit 
of*  the  death  of  a  surety  in  the  room  of  transgressors;  he 
suffered  in  the  same  nature  that  had  sinned;  his  sufferings 
were  voluntary  and  obediential,  and  therefore  possessed  a 
moral  fitness  for  making  reparation  to  the  injured  honours 
of  the  divine  law;  he  was  Lord  of  his  own  life,  and  had  a 
right  to  lay  it  down  in  the  room  of  others;  and  his  sufferings 
were,  from  the  dignity  of  his  person,  of  infinite  value  for  the 
expiation  of  our  sins." 

That  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  was  fully  satisfactory  to  divine 
justice,  cannot  be  questioned.  An  apostle  testifies,  that  the 
sacrifice  which  he  offered  up  was  "  for  a  sweet-smelling 
savour  unto  God." — Eph.  v.  2.  Christ  himself  announced 
that  the  satisfaction  was  complete,  when,  on  the  cross,  he 
proclaimed,  "It  is  finished."  And  we  have  a  most  decisive 
proof  of  the  satisfactory  nature  of  his  sacrifice,  in  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  and  his  glorious  exaltation  iu  heaven. 


110  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

2.  He  purchased  reconciliation  for  his  people.  This  ne- 
cessarily flows  from  the  former;  for  if  justice  is  fully  satis- 
fied, God's  judicial  displeasure  must  be  turned  away.  It  is 
sin  which  separates  between  God  and  sinners;  and,  there- 
fore, Christ  made  reconciliation  by  satisfying  divine  justice 
for  sin — the  cause  of  the  separation.  God  was  not  merely 
rendered  reconcileable,  but  fully  reconciled,  by  the  death  of 
Christ.  If  God  were  only  reconcileable,  then  some  acts  of 
our  own  must  be  the  proper  ground  of  our  reconciliation. 
But  such  a  sentiment  is  subversive  of  the  gospel,  which 
everywhere  declares,  that  Christ  made  reconciliation  by  his 
death. — Rom.  v.  10.  From  this,  however,  it  will  by  no  means 
follow,  that  the  elect  are  in  a  state  of  actual  reconciliation, 
either  from  the  time  of  Christ's  death,  or  from  the  first  mo- 
ment of  their  own  existence.  The  Scripture  represents  them 
as  being  "  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others."  A 
sure  foundation  for  their  reconciliation  was  laid  by  the  death 
of  Christ;  but  they  are  only  actually  reconciled  to  God  when, 
by  that  faith  which  is  of  divine  operation,  they  accept  of 
pardon  and  peace  as  obtained  by  Christ,  and  freely  exhibited 
to  them  in  the  gospel.  "  We  joy  in  God,"  says  an  apostle, 
"  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  re- 
ceived the  atonement,"  or  rather  the  reconciliation — Rom. 
v.  11. 

3.  He  purchased  for  his  elect  an  everlasting  inheritance  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Christ  not  only  sustained  the  full 
infliction  of  the  penalty  of  the  law,  to  obtain  for  his  people 
deliverance  from  condemnation,  but  also  perfectly  fulfilled 
its  precept,  to  procure  for  them  a  title  to  the  eternal  inheri- 
tance. Indeed,  his  endurance  of  the  penalty,  and  his  obe- 
dience to  the  precept  of  the  law,  though  they  may  be  distin- 
guished, cannot  be  separated,  and  constitute  that  one  righ- 
teousness which  is  meritorious  of  their  complete  salvation. 
"  Grace  reigns  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life,  by 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."— Rom.  v.  21.  "  By  Christ's  satisfac- 
tion," says  the  accurate  Witsius,  "  deliverance  from  sin,  and 
all  the  happy  effects  of  that  immunity,  were  purchased  at 
once  for  all  the  elect  in  general."* 

Section  VI. — Although  the  work  of  redemption  was 
not  actually  wrought  by  Christ  till  after  his  incarnation, 
yet  the  virtue,  efficacy,  and  benefits  thereof,  were  com- 
municated unto  the  elect  in  all  ages  successively  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  in  and  by  those  promises,  types, 

*  Witsius  on  the  Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  ii.,  ch.  7.  See  also  the 
excellent  Dissertations  of  Turretin,  vol.  iv.—De  Satisfactione  Ckrifti. 


SECT.  6,  7.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  1  1  1 

and  sacrifices,  wherein  he  was  revealed  and  signified  to 
.♦  be  the  Seed  of  the  woman  which  should  bruise  the  ser- 
pent's head,  and  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world,  being  yesterday  and  to-day  the  same,  and  for 
ever.36 

36  Gal.  iv.  4,  5.     Gen.  iii.  15.     Rev.  xiii.  8.    Heb.  xiii.  8. 
EXPOSITION. 

This  section  asserts  the  efficacy  of  the  death  of  Christ  for 
the  salvation  of  sinners  before,  as  well  as  since,  he  actually 
laid  down  his  life.  Though  four  thousand  years  elapsed  be- 
fore he  actually  appeared  in  the  flesh,  and  put  away  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself,  yet  he  was  exhibited  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  in  promises,  predictions,  and  types  ;  and  be- 
lievers under  the  Old  Testament  were  saved  by  the  merit  of 
his  sacrifice,  as  well  as  those  under  the  New.  Abraham 
"  rejoiced  to  see  his  day,"  and  was  justified  by  faith  in  him. 
"  His  death  is  not  more  efficacious  now,  nor  will  be  to  eter- 
nity, than  it  was  before  ;  for  he  is  the  same  in  point  of  virtue 
yesterday,  in  the  ages  past,  as  he  is  to-day,  at  present,  and  will 
be  in  the  ages  to  come."* — Heb.  xiii.  8.  Let  us  rejoice  that 
his  death  still  possesses  the  same  virtue  and  efficacy  that 
ever  it  had  ;  nothing  more  is  required  but  the  application  of 
faith  for  the  communication  to  us  of  its  fruits  and  effects. 

Section  "VII. — Christ,  in  the  work  of  mediation, 
acteth  according  to  both  natures;  by  each  nature  doing 
that  which  is  proper  to  itself: sr  yet,  by  reason  of  the  unity 
of  the  person,  that  which  is  proper  to  one  nature  is  some- 
times in  Scripture  attributed  to  the  person  denominated 
by  the  other  nature.36 

37  Heb.  ix.  14.    1  Pet.  iii.  18.  I  38  Actsxx.  28.    John  iii.  13.    1  John 

iii.  16. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  opposition  to  Roman  Catholics,  who  maintain  that  Christ  /  ^ 
is  mediator  only  as  man,  this  section  asserts  that  Christ,  as 
mediator,  acteth  according  to  both  natures.  The  Scriptures 
teach  us  that  he  acted  as  mediator  prior  to  his  assumption 
of  human  nature.  It  is  a  mediatorial  act — the  act  of  a  pro- 
phet, to  reveal  the  will  of  God  ;  and  it  cannot  be  questioned 
that  Christ  was  the  author  of  revelation  under  the  old  as 
well  as  the  new  dispensation.  It  is  a  mediatorial  act  to  in- 
tercede for  the  Church ;  but  this  Christ  did  long  before  his 
incarnation. — Zech.  i.  12.  And  since  his  incarnation  the 
*  Charnock's  Works,  vol.  ii.,  p.  563. 


112  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QCHAP.  VIII. 

mediator  acts  as  God-man,  and  the  works  peculiar  to  each 
nature  are  ascribed  to  the  person  of  Christ,  in  which  both 
natures  are  united.  The  human  nature  alone  could  suffer 
and  die ;  yet  it  is  said,  "  The  Lord  of  glory  was  crucified ;" 
and, "  God  purchased  the  Church  with  his  own  blood." — 1  Cor. 
ii.  8 ;  Acts  xx.  28.  This  claims  our  special  attention  ;  for 
upon  the  communion  of  the  two  natures  in  the  person  of 
Christ,  in  all  mediatory  acts,  especially  as  a  surety,  the  in- 
herent value  of  his  work  principally  depends. 

Section  VIII. — To  all  those  for  whom  Christ  hath 
purchased  redemption,  he  doth  certainly  and  effectually 
apply  and  communicate  the  same;30  making  intercession 
for  them;40  and  revealing  unto  them,  in  and  by  the 
Word,  the  mysteries  of  salvation;41  effectually  persua- 
ding them  by  his  Spirit  to  believe  and  obey ;  and 
governing  their  hearts  by  his  Word  and  Spirit;42  over- 
coming all  their  enemies  by  his  almighty  power  and 
wisdom,  in  such  manner  and  ways  as  are  most  consonant 
to  his  wonderful  and  unsearchable  dispensation.43 

39  John  vi.  37,  39 ;  x.  15,  in.  I  *2  j0hn  xiv.  16.     Heb.  xii.  2.    2  Cor. 

40  1  John  ii.  1,  2.  Rom.  viii.  34.  iv.  13.  Rom.  viii.  9,  14  ;  xv.  18, 
*l  John  xv.  13,  15.   Eph.  i.  7-9.  John  |  19.    John  xvii.  17. 

xvii.  6.  I  **  Ps.  ex.  1.     1  Cor.  xv.  25,  26.    Mai. 

I  iv.  2,  3.     Col.  ii.  15. 

EXPOSITIONS 

This  section  relates  to  the  extent  of  Christ's  death  with 
respect  to  its  objects,  and  in  opposition  to  the  Arminian 
tenet,  that  Christ  died  for  all  men — for  those  who  shall 
finally  perish,  as  well  as  for  those  who  shall  be  eventually 
)  saved ;  it  affirms  that  the  purchase  and  application  of  redemp- 
{  tion  are  exactly  of  the  same  extent.  In  the  fifth  section  we 
were  taught  that  Christ  purchased  redemption  only  for  "those 
whom  the  Father  hath  given  unto  him;"  and  here  it  is  asserted, 
that,  "  to  all  those  for  whom  Christ  hath  purchased  redemp- 
tion, he  doth  certainly  and  effectually  apply  and  communicate 
the  same."  It  was  formerly  remarked,  that,  at  the  period  j 
when  the  Confession  was  framed,  the  phrase  to  purchase  re- ! 
demption  was  nearly  synonymous  with  the  phrase  to  make 
atonement  for  sin.  What  language,  then,  could  affirm  more 
explicitly  than  that  here  employed,  that  the  atonement  of 
Christ  is  specific  and  limited— that  it  is  neither  universal 
nor  indefinite,  but  restricted  to  the  elect,  who  shall  be  saved 
from  wrath  through  him  ? 

The  sacrifice  of  Christ  derived  infinite  value  from  the 


SECT.  8.]  OF  CHRIST  THE  MEDIATOR.  113 

dignity  of  his  person  ;  it  must,  therefore,  have  been  intrinsi- 
cally sufficient  to  expiate  the  sins  of  the  whole  human  race 
had  it  been  so  intended ;  but,  in  the  designation  of  the  Father, 
and  in  the  intention  of  Christ  himself,  it  was  limited  to  a 
definite  number,  who  shall  ultimately  obtain  salvation.  This 
important  truth  may  be  confirmed  by  the  following  argu- 
ments : — 

1.  Restrictive  terms  are  frequently  employed  in  Scripture 
to  express  the  objects  of  the  death  of  Christ :  "  He  bare  the 
sin  of  many."  "  He  gave  his  life  a  ransom  for  many." — Isa. 
liii.  12  ;  Matt.  xx.  28.  Does  not  this  intimate  that  Christ 
died,  not  for  all  men,  but  only  for  many  ? 

2.  Those  for  whom  Christ  died  are  distinguished  from 
others  by  discriminating  characters.  They  are  called  the 
sheep, — John  x.  15;  the  church, — Eph.  v.  25;  God's  elect, — Rom. 
viii.  33  ;  the  children  of  God. — John  xi.  52. 

3.  Those  whom  Christ  redeemed  by  his  blood  are  said  to 
be  "  redeemed  from  among  men"  (Rev.  xiv.  4),  which,  if  Christ 
had  redeemed  all  men,  would  be  an  unmeaning  and  incon- 
sistent phrase  ;  they  are  also  said  to  be  "  redeemed  out  of 
every  kindred,"  &c.  (Rev.  v.  9),  which  certainly  implies  that 
only  some  of  every  kindred  are  redeemed. 

4.  The  redemption  obtained  by  Christ  is  restricted  to  those 
who  were  "  chosen  in  him,"  and  whom  the  Father  gave  to  him 
to  redeem  by  his  death. — Eph.  i.  4,  7;  John  xvii.  2. 

5.  Christ  died  in  the  character  of  a  surety,  and  therefore 
he  laid  down  his  life  only  for  those  whom  he  represented,  or 
for  his  spiritual  seed. — Isa.  liii.  10. 

6.  The  intention  of  Christ  in  laying  down  his  life  was,  not 
merely  to  obtain  for  those  for  whom  he  died  a  possibility  of 
salvation,  but  actually  to  save  them — to  bring  them  to  the 
real  possession  and  enjoyment  of  eternal  salvation. — Eph.  v. 
25,  26  ;  Tit.  ii.  14  ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18  ;  1  Thess.  v.  10.  From  this, 
it  inevitably  follows,  that  Christ  died  only  for  those  who  shall 
be  saved  in  him  with  an  everlasting  salvation. 

7.  The  intercession  of  Christ  proceeds  upon  the  ground  of 
his  atoning  sacrifice  ;  they  must,  therefore,  be  of  the  same 
extent  with  regard  to  their  objects  ;  but  he  does  not  pray 
for  the  world,  but  only  for  those  who  were  given  him  out  of 
the  world  ;  his  sacrifice  must,  therefore,  be  restricted  to  that 
definite  number. — 1  John  ii.  1,  2  ;  John  xvii.  9. 

8.  An  apostle  infers  from  the  greatness  of  God's  love  in 
delivering  up  his  Son  to  death  for  sinners,  that  he  will  not 
withhold  from  them  any  of  the  blessings  of  salvation  ;  we 
must,  therefore,  conclude  that  Christ  did  not  die  for  all  man- 
kind.— Rom.  viii.  32. 


114  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

9.  The  same  apostle  infers  the  certainty  of  our  salvation 
by  the  life  of  Christ,  from  our  reconciliation  to  God  by  his 
death ;  now,  since  all  are  not  saved  by  his  life,  we  must 
conclude  that  all  were  not  reconciled  by  his  death. — Rom. 
v.  10. 

10.  Christ,  by  his  death,  procured  for  his  people  not  only 
salvation,  but  all  the  means  leading  to  the  enjoyment  of  it; 
consequently,  his  intention  in  dying  must  be  limited  to  those 
who  do  repent  and  believe,  and  not  extended  to  the  whole 
human  race. 

11.  The  doctrine  that  Christ  died  for  all  men  leads  to 
many  absurd  consequences,  such  as, — That  Christ  shed  his 
blood  for  many  in  vain,  since  all  are  not  saved;  that  he  ( 
laid  down  his  life  in  absolute  uncertainty  whether  any  of 
the  human  race  would  be  eventually  saved  ;  that  he  shed 
his  blood  for  millions  who,  at  the  very  moment  of  his  death, 
were  consigned  to  the  pit  of  everlasting  destruction;  that 
he  died  for  those  for  whom  he  does  not  intercede  ;  that  he 
died  for  those  to  whom  he  never  sent  the  means  of  salvation, 
yea,  to  some  of  whom  he  even  forbade  his  gospel  to  be 
preached, — Matt.  x.  5;  Rom.  x.  14;  and  that  God  acts  un- 
justly in  inflicting  everlasting  punishment  upon  men  for 
those  very  transgressions  for  which  he  has  already  received 
full  satisfaction  by  the  death  of  Christ.  To  affirm  any  of 
these  things,  would  be  blasphemous  in  the  highest  degree  ,• 
and,  therefore,  that  doctrine  which  involves  such  conse- 
quences must  be  unscriptural. 

Universal  terms  are  sometimes  used  in  Scripture  in  refer- 
ence to  the  death  of  Christ;  but  reason  and  common  sense 
demand  that  general  phrases  be  explained  and  defined  by 
those  that  are  sjjecial,  and  which  can  only  admit  of  one  inter- 
pretation. The  meaning  in  each  case  may  usually  be  ascer- 
tained from  the  context;  and  one  obvious  reason  for  the  use 
of  indefinite  and  universal  terms  in  relation  to  the  death  of 
Christ  is,  to  intimate  that  the  saving  effects  of  his  death  ex- 
tend to  some  of  all  nations — to  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews — to 
all  classes  and  descriptions  of  men.* 

*  On  this  topic  numerous  publications  have  lately  appeared ;  among  the 
earlier  productions,  we  would  refer  to  Hurrion's  Four  Sermons  in  the  Lime- 
street  Lectures,  and  especially  to  Dr  Owen's  Treatise,  Salus  Electorum, 
Sanguis  Jesu,  which,  in  fact,  exhausts  the  subject. 


SECT.  1.]  OF  FREE  WILL.  115 

CHAPTER  IX. 

OF  FREE  WILL. 

Section  I. — God  hath  endued  the  will  of  man  with 
that  natural  liberty  that  it  is  neither  forced,  nor  by  any 
absolute  necessity  of  nature  determined,  to  good  or 
evil.1 

1  Matt.  xvii.  12.    James  i.  14.     Deut.  xxx.  19. 
f 

EXPOSITION. 

The  decision  of  most  of  the  points  in  controversy  between 
Calvinists  and  Arminians,  as  President  Edwards  has  observed, 
depends  on  the  determination  of  the  question — Wherein  con- 
sists that  freedom  of  will  which  is  requisite  to  moral  agency  ?  Ac- 
cording to  Arminians  three  things  belong  to  the  freedom  of 
the  will : — 1 .  That  the  will  has  a  self-determining  power,  or  a 
certain  sovereignty  over  itself,  and  its  own  acts,  whereby  it 
determines  its  own  volitions.  2.  A  state  of  indifference,  or 
that  equilibrium,  whereby  the  will  is  without  all  antecedent 
bias,  and  left  entirely  free  from  any  prepossessing  inclination 
to  one  side  or  the  other.  3.  That  the  volitions,  or  acts  of 
the  will,  are  contingent,  not  only  as  opposed  to  all  constraint, 
but  to  all  necessity,  or  any  fixed  and  certain  connection  with 
some  previous  ground  or  reason  of  their  existence.  Calvinists, 
on  the  other  hand,  contend  that  a  power  in  the  will  to  deter- 
mine its  own  determinations,  is  either  unmeaning,  or  supposes, 
contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  philosophy,  something  to 
arise  without  a  cause ;  that  the  idea  of  the  soul  exerting  an 
act  of  choice  or  preference,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  will 
is  in  a  perfect  equilibrium,  or  state  of  indifference,  is  full  of 
absurdity  and  self-contradiction  ;  and  that,  as  nothing  can 
ever  come  to  pass  without  a  cause,  the  acts  of  the  will  are 
never  contingent,  or  without  necessity — understanding  by 
necessity,  a  necessity  of  consequence,  or  an  infallible  connection 
with  something  foregoing.*  According  to  Calvinists,  the 
liberty  of  a  moral  agent  consists  in  the  power  of  acting  ac- 
cording to  his  choice ;  and  those  actions  are  free  which  are 
performed  without  any  external  compulsion  or  restraint,  in 
consequence  of  the  determinations  of  his  own  mind.  "  The 
necessity  of  man's  willing  and  acting  in  conformity  to  his 
apprehensions  and  disposition,  is,  in  their  opinion,  fully  con- 
sistent with  all  the  liberty  which  can  belong  to  a  rational 
*  See  Edwards'  Inquiry  into  Freedom  of  Will. 


116 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


[CHAP.  IX. 


nature.  The  infinite  Being  necessarily  wills  and  acts  accord- 
ing to  the  absolute  perfection  of  his  nature,  yet  with  the 
highest  liberty.  Angels  necessarily  will  and  act  according 
to  the  perfection  of  their  natures,  yet  with  full  liberty ;  for 
this  sort  of  necessity  is  so  far  from  interfering  with  liberty 
of  will,  that  the  perfection  of  the  will's  liberty  lies  in  such  a 
necessity.  The  very  essence  of  its  liberty  lies  in  acting  con- 
sciously, choosing  or  refusing  without  any  external  com- 
pulsion or  constraint,  but  according  to  inward  principles  of 
rational  apprehension  and  natural  disposition."  * 

Section  II — Man,  in  his  state  of  innocency,  had  free- 
dom and  power  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  is  good  and 
well  pleasing  to  God; 2  but  yet  mutably,  so  that  he  might 
fall  from  it.3 

Section  III. — Man,  by  his  fall  into  a  state  of  sin, 
hath  wholly  lost  all  ability  of  will  to  any  spiritual  good 
accompanying  salvation;4  so  as  a  natural  man,  being 
altogether  averse  from  that  good,5  and  dead  in  sin,6  is 
not  able,  by  his  own  strength,  to  convert  himself,  or  to 
prepare  himself  thereunto.7 

Section  IV. — "When  God  converts  a  sinner,  and  trans- 
lates him  into  the  state  of  grace,  he  freeth  him  from 
his  natural  bondage  under  sin,8  and  by  his  grace  alone 
enables  him  freely  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  is 
spiritually  good; 9  yet  so  as  that,  by  reason  of  his  remain- 
ing corruption,  he  doth  not  perfectly  nor  only  will  that 
which  is  good,  but  doth  also  will  that  which  is  evil.10 

Section  V. — The  will  of  man  is  made  perfectly  and 
immutably  free  to  do  good  alone  in  the  state  of  glory 
only.11 


2  Eccl.  vii.  29.     Gen.  i.  26. 

8  Gen.ii.  16,17;  iii.  6. 

4  Rom.  v.  6  ;  viii.  7.    John  xv.  5. 

B  Rom.  iii.  10,  12. 

6  Eph.  ii.  1,5.     Col.  ii.  13. 

7  John  vi.  44,  65.    Eph.  ii.  2-5.  1  Cor. 

ii.  14.     Tit.  iii.  3-5. 


8  Col.  i.  13.    John  viii.  34,  36. 

9  Phil.  ii.  13.     Rom.  vi.  18,  22. 

10  Gal.  v.  17.     Rom.  vii.  15,  18,*  19, 

21,  23. 
«  Eph.  iv.  13.    Heb.  xii.  23.     1  John 

iii.  2.    Jude  24. 


EXPOSITION. 


The  human  will  is  not  a  distinct  agent,  but  only  a  power 
of  the  rational  soul.     It  is  essential  to  a  soul  to  have  a  moral 
*  Adam  Gib  on  Liberty  and  Necessity  ;  Contemplations,  p.  484. 


SECT.  2-5.]  OF  FREE  WILL.  1 1 7 

disposition,  good  or  bad,  or  a  mixture  of  both  ;  and,  according 
to  what  is  the  prevailing  moral  disposition  of  the  soul,  must 
be  the  moral  actings  of  the  will.  Hence  there  is  a  great 
difference  in  regard  to  the  freedom  of  the  will  in  the  diffe- 
rent states  of  man.  In  the  state  of  innocence,  the  natural 
inclination  of  man's  will  was  only  to  good  ;  but  it  was  liable 
to  change  through  the  power  of  temptation,  and  therefore 
free  to  choose  evil.  In  his  natural  corrupt  state,  man  freely 
chooses  evil,  without  any  compulsion  or  constraint  on  his 
will ;  and  he  cannot  do  otherwise,  being  under  the  bondage 
of  sin.  In  the  state  of  grace,  he  has  a  free  will  partly  to 
good  and  partly  to  evil.  In  this  state  there  is  a  mixture  of 
two  opposite  moral  dispositions,  and  as  sometimes  the  one, 
and  sometimes  the  other,  prevails,  so  the  will  sometimes 
chooses  that  which  is  good,  and  sometimes  that  which  is 
evil.  In  the  state  of  glory,  the  blessed  freely  choose  what 
is  good  ;  and,  being  confirmed  in  a  state  of  perfect  holiness, 
they  can  only  will  what  is  good. 

The  important  truth  laid  down  in  the  third  section  con- 
cerning man's  inability,  in  his  fallen  state,  to  will  or  do  that 
which  is  spiritually  good,  claims  some  further  notice.  It  has 
been  opposed  by  various  sects.  The  Pelagians  maintained 
"  that  mankind  are  capable  of  repentance  and  amendment, 
and  of  arriving  to  the  highest  degrees  of  piety  and  virtue  by 
the  use  of  their  natural  faculties  and  powers."  The  Semi- 
Pelagians,  though  they  allowed  that  assisting  grace  is  neces- 
sary to  enable  a  man  to  continue  in  a  course  of  religious  duties, 
yet  they  held  "  that  inward  preventing  grace  was  not  necessary 
to  form  in  the  soul  the  'Jirst  beginnings  of  true  repentance  and 
amendment ;  that  every  man  was  capable  of  producing  these 
by  the  mere  power  of  his  natural  faculties ;  as  also  of  exer- 
cising faith  in  Christ,  and  forming  the  purposes  of  a  holy  and 
sincere  obedience."  *  The  Arminians,  in  words,  ascribe  the 
conversion  of  the  sinner  to  the  grace  of  God ;  yet  they  ulti- 
mately resolve  it  into  the  free-will  of  man.  In  opposition  to 
these  various  forms  of  error,  our  Confession  asserts  that  man, 
in  his  natural  corrupt  state,  "  has  lost  all  ability  of  will  to 
any  spiritual  good  accompanying  salvation,"  and  that  "  a 
natural  man  is  not  able,  by  his  own  strength,  to  convert 
himself,  or  to  prepare  himself  thereunto."  This  may  be 
confirmed, — 1.  By  the  representations  given  in  Scripture  of 
the  natural  condition  of  mankind  sinners.  They  are  said  to 
be  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  ;"  to  be  not  only  blind,  but 
"  darkness"  itself ;  to  be  "  the  servants  of  sin  ;"  to  be  "  ene- 
mies of  God,"  who  are  not,  and  cannot  be,  subject  to  his  law. — 

*  Mosheim,  cent,  v.,  p.  2,  ch.  5. 


118  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  X. 

Eph.  ii.  1,  v.  8 ;  Rom.  vi.  17 ;  Col.  i.  21 ;  Rom.  viii.  7.  2.  The 
Scripture  contains  explicit  declarations  of  man's  inability  to 
exercise  faith  in  Christ,  or  to  do  anything  spiritually  good. — 
John  vi.  44,  xv.  5.  3.  God  claims  the  conversion  of  sinners 
as  his  own  work,  which  he  promises  to  accomplish. — Ezek. 
xi.  19,  20,  xxxvi.  26,  27;  Jer.  xxxi.  33.  4.  The  conversion 
of  sinners  is  uniformly  ascribed  to  the  efficacy  of  divine 
grace. — Acts  xvi.  14 ;  1  Thess.  i.  5.  5.  The  conversion  of  the 
soul  is  described  in  Scripture  by  such  figurative  terms  as 
imply  that  it  is  a  divine  work.  It  is  called  a  creation, — Eph. 
ii.  10 ;  a  resurrection, — John  v.  21;  a  new  birth, — John  i.  13. 
6.  If  the  sinner  could  convert  himself,  then  he  would  have 
something  of  which  he  might  boast — something  which  he 

had  not  received 1  Cor.  i.  29,  30,  iv.  7.     7.  The  increase 

of  Christians  in  faith  and  holiness  is  spoken  of  as  the  work 
of  God ;  which  must  more  strongly  imply  that  the  first  begin- 
nings of  it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  him. — Phil.  i.  6,  ii.  13 ;  Heb. 
xiii.  20,  21.  We  only  add,  that  man's  incapacity  of  willing 
or  doing  that  which  is  spiritually  good  being  a  moral  inability, 
it  is  not  inconsistent  with  his  responsibility. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OF  EFFECTUAL  CALLING. 

Section  I. — All  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated 
unto  life,  and  those  only,  he  is  pleased,  in  his  appointed 
and  accepted  time,  effectually  to  call,1  by  his  Word  and 
Spirit,2  out  of  that  state  of  sin  and  death  in  which  they 
are  by  nature,  to  grace  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ; s 
enlightening  their  minds  spiritually  and  savingly  to  un- 
derstand the  things  of  God;4  taking  away  their  heart  of 
stone,  and  giving  unto  them  an  heart  of  flesh;5  renew- 
ing their  wills,  and  by  his  almighty  power  determining 
them  to  that  which  is  good,6  and  effectually  drawing 

1  Rom.  viii.  30;  xi.  7.     Eph.  i.  10.  11.  I  *  Acts  xxvi.  18.  1  Cor.ii.  10,12.  Eph. 
=  2  Thess.  ii.  13,  14.    2  Cor.  iii.  3,  6.  |  i.  17,  18.    6  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26. 

3  Rom.  viii.  2.     Eph.  ii.  1-5.    2  Tim.  ]  6  Ezek.  xi.   19.    Phil.  ii.  13.     Deut. 
i-  9-  10,  xxx.  6.    Ezek.  xxxvi.  27. 


SECT.  1,  2.]  OP  EFFECTUAL  CALLING.  119 

them  to  Jesus  Christ;7  yet  so  as  they  come  most  freely, 
being  made  willing  by  his  grace.8 

.  Section  II. — This  effectual  call  is  of  God's  free  and 
special  grace  alone,  not  from  anything  at  all  foreseen  in 
man;9  who  is  altogether  passive  therein,  until,  being 
quickened  and  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,10  he  is  thereby 
enabled  to  answer  this  call,  and  to  embrace  the  grace 
offered  and  conveyed  in  it.11 


7  Eph.  i.  19.    John  vi.  44,  45. 

8  Cant.  i.  4.    Ps.  ex.  3.    John  vi.  37. 

Kom.  vi.  16-18. 

9  2  Tim.  i.  9.     Tit.  iii.  4,  5.     Eph.  ii. 

4,  5,  8,  9.    Rom.  ix.  11. 


10  1  Cor.  ii.  14.    Rom.  viii.  7.    Eph. 

ii.  5. 

11  John  vi.  37.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27.  John 

v.  25. 


EXPOSITION. 

There  is  an  external  call  of  the  gospel,  whereby  all  who  hear 
it  are  called  to  the  fellowship  of  Christ,  and  to  receive  a  full 
salvation  in  him,  without  money  and  without  price. — Isa.  lv.  1. 
This  call  is  not  confined  to  the  elect,  nor  restricted  to  those 
who  are  sensible  of  their  sins,  and  feel  their  need  of  a  Sa- 
viour, or  who  possess  some  good  qualifications  to  distinguish 
them  from  others ;  but  it  is  addressed  to  mankind  sinners  as 
such,  without  distinction,  and  without  exception.  All  who 
come  under  the  general  denomination  of  men,  whatever  be 
their  character  and  state,  have  this  call  directed  to  them  : 
"  To  you,  O  men,  I  call,  and  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of 
men." — Prov.  viii.  4.  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth" — sinners  of  every  nation,  of  every 
rank,  and  condition. — Isa.  xlv.  22.  To  reconcile  the  unli- 
mited call  of  the  gospel  with  the  doctrines  of  particular 
election  and  a  definite  atonement,  seems  to  exceed  the  efforts 
of  the  human  mind.  But  though  we  cannot  discover  the 
principle  which  reconciles  them,  the  doctrines  themselves 
are  clearly  taught  in  the  Word  of  God;  and  are,  therefore,  to 
be  received  with  unhesitating  confidence.  That  the  call  of 
the  gospel  is  indefinite  and  universal,  that  God  is  sincere  in 
addressing  this  call  to  all  to  whom  the  gospel  comes,  and 
that  none  who  comply  with  the  call  shall  be  disappointed ; 
these  are  unquestionable  truths.  But  the  outward  call  by 
the  Word  is  of  itself  ineffectual.  Though  all  without  excep- 
tion are  thus  called,  yet  multitudes  refuse  to  hearken,  and 
in  this  respect  "  many  are  called,  hut  few  are  chosen;"  that 
is,  few  are  determined  effectually  to  embrace  the  call.  But 
there  is  also  an  internal  call,  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  accom- 
panies the  external  call  with  power  and  efficacy  upon  the 


1 20  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QCHAP.  X. 

soul ;  and  this  call  is  always  effectual.  This  effectual  work  of 
the  Spirit  is  termed  a  calling,  because  men  are  naturally 
at  a  distance  from  Christ,  and  are  hereby  brought  into  fellow- 
ship with  him.  They  are  called  "  out  of  that  state  of  sin  and 
death  in  which  they  are  by  nature,  to  grace  and  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ" — out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  light — out  of 
the  world  that  lieth  in  wickedness  into  the  family  of  God — 
from  a  state  of  bondage  into  a  state  of  glorious  liberty — from 
a  state  of  sin  unto  holiness — and  from  a  state  of  wrath  unto 
the  hope  of  eternal  glory.  Concerning  this  calling  we  are 
here  taught, — 

1.  That  the  elect  alone  are  partakers  of  it :  "  All  those 
whom  God  hath  predestinated  unto  life,  and  those  only,  he 
is  pleased  effectually  to  call."  The  subjects  of  this  work  are 
said  to  be  "  called  according  to  God's  purpose,"  and  "  whom 
he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called." — Rom.  viii.  28,  30; 
2  Tim.  i.  9.  Those  who  dispense  the  Word  know  not  who 
are  included  in  "  the  election  of  grace,"  and  must,  therefore, 
address  the  calls  and  invitations  of  the  gospel  to  men  indis- 
criminately. They  draw  the  bow  at  a  venture,  but  the  Lord, 
who  "  knoweth  them  that  are  his,"  directs  the  arrow,  so  as 
to  cause  it  to  strike  home  to  the  hearts  of  those  whom  he 
"  hath  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

2.  That  this  calling  is  under  the  direction  of  the  sovereign 
will  and  pleasure  of  God  as  to  the  time  of  it.  He  is  pleased  to 
call  his  elect  "  in  his  appointed  and  accepted  time."  Some 
are  called  into  the  vineyard  at  the  third  hour,  some  at  the 
sixth,  some  at  the  ninth,  and  some  even  at  the  eleventh  hour 
of  the  day.  Some,  like  good  Obadiah,  have  feared  the  Lord 
from  their  youth ;  others,  like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  have  been  born, 
as  it  were,  out  of  due  time.  There  is  also  a  diversity  with 
respect  to  the  manner  of  this  calling.  Some,  like  Lydia,  have 
been  secretly  and  sweetly  allured  to  the  Saviour,  and  could 
hardly  declare  the  time  or  manner  in  which  the  happy 
change  began ;  others,  like  the  Philippian  jailer,  have  for  a 
season  suffered  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  been  made  to 
cry  out,  trembling  and  astonished,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?'' — Acts  xvi. 

3.  That  this  calling  is  effected  by  the  Word  and  Spirit. 
The  Word  is  usually  the  outward  means  employed,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  always  the  efficient  agent,  in  calling  men  into 
the  kingdom  of  grace.  If,  in  any  instance,  the  call  of  the 
gospel  proves  successful,  it  is  not  owing  to  the  piety  or 
persuasive  eloquence  of  those  who  dispense  the  gospel 
(1  Cor.  iii.  7);  neither  is  it  on  account  of  one  making  a  better 
use  than  another  of  his  own  free  will  (Rom.  ix.  16);  it  is 


SECT.  1,    2.]  OP  EFFECTUAL  CALLING.  121 

solely  to  be  ascribed  to  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit  ac- 
companying the  outward  call  of  the  Word. — 1  Thess.  i.  5.  By 
means  of  the  law,  the  Spirit  convinces  them  of  their  sinful- 
ness, shows  them  the  danger  to  which  they  are  exposed, 
and  discovers  to  them  the  utter  insufficiency  of  their  own 
works  of  righteousness  as  the  ground  of  their  hope  and  trust 
for  acceptance  before  God.  By  means  of  the  gospel,  he  en- 
lightens their  minds  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ — discovers 
to  them  the  glory  of  his  person,  the  perfection  of  his  righ- 
teousness, the  suitableness  of  his  offices,  and  the  fulness  of 
his  grace ;  shows  them  his  ability  to  save  to  the  uttermost, 
his  suitableness  to  their  condition,  and  his  willingness  to  re- 
ceive all  that  come  to  him.  He  also  takes  away  their  heart 
of  stone,  and  gives  unto  them  an  heart  of  flesh — renews  their 
wills,  and  effectually  determines  and  enables  them  to  em- 
brace Christ  as  their  own  Saviour. 

4.  That?  in  this  calling  no  violence  is  offered  to  the  will. 
While  the  Spirit  effectually  draws  sinners  to  Christ,  he  deals 
with  them  in  a  way  agreeable  to  their  rational  nature,  "  so 
as  they  come  most  freely,  being  made  willing  by  his  grace." 
The  liberty  of  the  will  is  not  invaded,  for  that  would  destroy 
its  very  nature ;  but  its  obstinacy  is  overcome,  its  perverse- 
ness  taken  away,  and  the  whole  soul  powerfully,  yet  sweetly, 
attracted  to  the  Saviour.  The  compliance  of  the  soul  is 
voluntary,  while  the  energy  of  the  Spirit  is  efficient  and 
almighty:  "Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy 
power." — Ps.  ex.  3. 

5.  That  in  this  calling  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are 
invincible.  As  Arminians  and  others  maintain  that  God 
gives  sufficient  grace  to  all  men,  upon  the  due  improvement 
of  which  they  may  be  saved,  if  it  is  not  their  own  fault,  so 
they  also  hold  that  there  are  no  operations  of  the  Spirit  in 
conversion  which  do  not  leave  the  sinner  in  such  a  state  as 
that  he  may  either  comply  with  them  or  not.  It  is  obvious 
that  this  opinion  makes  the  success  of  the  Spirit's  work  to 
depend  on  the  sinner's  free  will,  so  that  those  who  do  ac- 
tually obey  the  call  of  the  gospel  are  not  more  indebted  to 
God  than  those  who  reject  it,  but  may  take  praise  to  them- 
selves for  having  made  a  better  use  of  their  power,  in  direct 
opposition  to  Scripture,  which  declares  that  "  it  is  not  of  him 
that  willeth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy."  We  admit 
that  there  are  common  operations  of  the  Spirit  which  do  not 
issue  in  the  conversion  of  the  sinner ;  but  we  maintain  that 
the  special  operations  of  the  Spirit  overcome  all  opposition, 
and  effectually  determine  the  sinner  to  embrace  Jesus  Christ 
as  he  is  offered  in  the  gospel.    If  the  special  operations  of 


122  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £CHAP.  X. 

the  Spirit  were  not  invincible,  but  might  be  effectually  re- 
sisted, then  it  would  be  uncertain  whether  any  would  believe 
or  not,  and  consequently  possible  that  all  which  Christ  had 
done  and  suffered  in  the  work  of  redemption  might  have 
been  done  and  suffered  in  vain. 

6.  That  this  calling  proceeds  from  the  free  grace  of  God. 
The  term  grace  is  sometimes  used  to  denote  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  heart,  and  sometimes  to  denote  the 
free  favour  of  God,  as  opposed  to  all  merit  on  the  part  of 
his  creatures.  It  is  to  be  understood  in  the  latter  sense 
when  this  effectual  call  is  said  to  be  "of  God's  free  and 
special  grace  alone,  not  from  anything  at  all  foreseen  in 
man."  Previous  to  their  vocation,  men  can  perform  no  work 
that  is  spiritually  good ;  and,  after  their  conversion,  their  best 
works  are  imperfect,  and  cannot  entitle  them  to  any  reward. 
God  is  not,  therefore,  influenced  to  call  them  on  account  of 
any  good  works  which  they  have  already  done,  n<5r  from  the 
foresight  of  anything  to  be  afterwards  done  by  them. — 2  Tim. 
i.  9 ;  Tit.  iii.  5.  To  manifest  that  this  call  is  entirely  owing 
to  the  free  grace  of  God,  and  to  display  the  exceeding  riches 
of  his  grace,  God  is  sometimes  pleased  to  call  the  very  chief 
of  sinners. 

7.  That  in  this  calling  the  sinner  is  altogether  passite,  until 
he  is  quickened  and  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Here  it  is 
proper  to  distinguish  between  regeneration  and  conversion ; 
in  the  former  the  sinner  is  passive — in  the  latter  he  is  active, 
or  co-operates  with  the  grace  of  God.  In  regeneration  a 
principle  of  grace  is  implanted  in  the  soul,  and  previous  to 
this  the  sinner  is  incapable  of  moral  activity;  for,  in  the 
language  of  inspiration,  he  is  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
In  conversion  the  soul  turns  to  God,  which  imports  activity ; 
but  still  the  sinner  only  acts  as  he  is  acted  upon  by  God,  who 
"  worketh  in  him  both  to  will  and  to  do." 

Section  III. — Elect  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  are 
regenerated  and  saved  by  Christ  through  the  Spirit,12 
who  worketh  when,  and  where,  and  how  he  pleaseth.13 
So  also  are  all  other  elect  persons,  who  are  incapable  of 
being  outwardly  called  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word.14 

12  Luke  xviii.  15,  16.     Acts  ii.  38,  39.  I  13  John  iii.  8. 

John  iii.  3,  5.    1  John  v.   12.    1*  1  John  v.  12.    Acts.  iv.  12. 
Rom.  viii.  9. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  Holy  Spirit  usually  works  by  means ;  and  the  Word, 
read  or  preached,  is  the  ordinary  means  which  he  renders 


I 


SECT.  4.] 


OF  EFFECTUAL  CALLING. 


123 


effectual  to  the  salvation  of  sinners.  But  he  has  immediate 
access  to  the  hearts  of  men,  and  can  produce  a  saving  change 
in  them  without  the  use  of  ordinary  means.  "As  infants 
are  not  fit  subjects  of  instruction,  their  regeneration  must  be 
effected  without  means,  by  the  immediate  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  their  souls.  There  are  adult  persons,  too,  to  whom 
the  use  of  reason  has  been  denied.  It  would  be  harsh  and 
unwarrantable  to  suppose  that  they  are,  on  this  account, 
excluded  from  salvation;  and  to  such  of  them  as  God  has 
chosen,  it  may  be  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  to  infants."  * 

Section  IV. — Others  not  elected,  although  they  may 
be  called  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word,15  and  may  have 
some  common  operations  of  the  Spirit,16  yet  they  never 
truly  come  unto  Christ,  and  therefore  cannot  be  saved: 17 
much  less  can  men  not  professing  the  Christian  religion 
be  saved  in  any  other  way  whatsoever,  be  they  ever  so 
diligent  to  frame  their  lives  according  to  the  light  of 
nature  and  the  law  of  that  religion  they  do  profess; 18 
and  to  assert  and  maintain  that  they  may,  is  very  per- 
nicious, and  to  be  detested.19 


15  Matt.  xxii.  14. 

16  Matt.  vii.  22  ;  xiii.  20,  21.     Heb. 

vi.  4,  5. 

17  Johnvi.  64-66;  viii.  24. 


18  Acts  iv.  12.    Johnxiv.  6.     Eph.  ii. 

12.    Johniv.  22;  xvii.  3. 
is  2  John  9-11.    1  Cor.  xvi.  22.     Gal. 

i.  6-8. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  doctrines  stated  in  this  section  are  the  following  : — 

1.  That  though  those  who  are  not  elected  have  the  exter- 
nal call  of  the  gospel  addressed  to  them,  in  common  with 
those  who  are  elected,  yet  "  they  never  truly  come  to  Christ, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  saved." 

2.  That  there  are  "common  operations  of  the  Spirit,"  which 
produce  convictions  of  sin,  by  means  of  the  law  in  the  con- 
science ;  and  joyous  emotions,  by  means  of  the  gospel,  in  the 
affections  of  men  in  their  natural  state ;  which  do  not  issue  in 
conversion. 

3.  That  those  cannot  be  saved  who  are  totally  destitute  of 
revelation.  "  Though  the  invitation  which  nature  gives  to 
seek  God  be  sufficient  to  render  them  without  excuse  who  do 
not  comply  with  it  (Rom.  i.  20),  yet  it  is  not  sufficient,  even 
objectively,  for  salvation ;  for  it  does  not  afford  that  lively 
hope  which  maketh  not  ashamed,  for  this  is  only  revealed  by 
the  gospel ;  whence  the  Gentiles  are  said  to  have  been  with- 
out hope  in  the  world. — Eph.  ii.  12.     It  does  not  show  the  true 

*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iii.,  p.  265. 


124  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

way  to  the  enjoyment  of  God,  which  is  no  other  than  faith  in 
Christ.  It  does  not  sufficiently  instruct  us  about  the  manner 
in  which  we  ought  to  worship  and  please  God,  and  do  what 
is  acceptable  to  him.  In  short,  this  call  by  nature  never  did, 
nor  is  it  even  possible  that  it  ever  can,  bring  any  to  the  saving 
knowledge  of  God ;  the  gospel  alone  is  the  *  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth.' — Rom.  i.  16. 
We  are  persuaded  there  is  no  salvation  without  Christ 
(Acts  iv.  12) ;  no  communion  of  adult  persons  with  Christ, 
but  by  faith  in  him  (Eph.  iii.  17);  no  faith  in  Christ  without 
the  knowledge  of  him  (John  xvii.  3 ;)  no  knowledge  but  by 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  (Rom.  x.  14) ;  no  preaching  of 
the  gospel  in  the  works  of  nature ;  for  it  is  that  mystery  which 
teas  kept  secret  since  the  world  began." — Rom.  xvi.  25.  * 

Let  us  be  thankful  that  we  are  favoured  with  the  revela- 
tion and  free  offer  of  Christ  in  the  gospel.  Let  us  give  all 
diligence  to  make  sure  our  election,  by  making  sure  our  call- 
ing; and  if  we  have,  indeed,  been  made  "partakers  of  the 
heavenly  calling,"  let  us  "  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  where- 
with we  are  called,"  and  "  worthy  of  God,  who  hath  called 
us  unto  his  kingdom  and  glory." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OF   JUSTIFICATION. 

Section  I. — Those  whom  God  effectually  calleth  he 
also  freely  justifieth; l  not  by  infusing  righteousness  into 
them,  but  by  pardoning  their  sins,  and  by  accounting 
and  accepting  their  persons  as  righteous:  not  for  any 
thing  wrought  in  them,  or  done  by  them,  but  for  Christ's 
sake  alone:  not  by  imputing  faith  itself,  the  act  of 
believing,  or  any  other  evangelical  obedience,  to  them  as 
their  righteousness ;  but  by  imputing  the  obedience  and 
satisfaction  of  Christ  unto  them,2  they  receiving  and 

1  Rom.  viii.  30 ;  iii.  24.  I  Titus  iii.  5,  7.    Eph.  i.  7.     Jer. 

2  Rom.    iv.  5-8.       2  Cor.  v.   19,  21.  xxiii.  6.    1  Cor.  i.  30,  31.    Rom. 

Rom.  iii.  22,  24,  25,    27,    28.  J  v.  17-19. 

*  Witsius'  Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  iii.,  ch.  5,  sect.  13,  14. 


SECT.  1,  2.]  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  125 

resting  on  him  and  his  righteousness  by  faith:  which 
faith  they  have  not  of  themselves ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God.3 

Section  II. — Faith,  thus  receiving  and  resting  on 
Christ  and  his  righteousness,  is  the  alone  instrument  of 
justification;4  yet  is  it  not  alone  in  the  person  justified, 
but  is  ever  accompanied  with  all  other  saving  graces, 
and  is  no  dead  faith,  but  worketh  by  love.5 

3  Acts  x.  44.    Gal.  ii.  16.     Phil.  iii.  9.  I  *  John  i.  12.     Rom.  iii.  28;  r.  1. 
Acts  xiii.  38,  39.     Eph.  ii.  7,  8.    j  5  James  ii.  17,  22,  26.     Gal.  v.  6. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  holds  a  most  im- 
portant place  in  the  Christian  system.  It  was  justly  termed 
by  Luther,  articulus  stantis  tel  cadentis  ecclesice — the  test  of  a 
standing  or  of  a  falling  Church.  In  the  Church  of  Rome 
this  doctrine  was  most  grossly  corrupted ;  and  it  was  emi- 
nently through  the  preaching  of  the  scriptural  doctrine  of 
justification  that  the  reformation  from  Popery  was  effected. 
Even  in  the  Protestant  Churches,  however,  pernicious  errors 
in  regard  to  this  subject  have  been  widely  disseminated, 
and  at  different  periods  have  produced  much  acrimonious 
controversy.  In  our  Confession,  the  scriptural  doctrine  of 
justification  is  accurately  discriminated  from  the  various 
forms  of  error ;  and,  in  the  progress  of  our  exposition,  we 
shall  point  out  the  errors  to  which  the  statements  of  the  Con- 
fession are  opposed. 

I.  Justification  is  a  judicial  act  of  God,  and  is  not  a  change 
of  nature,  but  a  change  of  the  sinner's  state  in  relation  to  the 
law.  The  Church  of  Rome  confounds  justification  with  sanc- 
tifi cation,  and  represents  justification  as  a  physical  act,  con- 
sisting in  the  infusion  of  righteousness  into  the  souls  of  men, 
making  them  internally  and  personally  just.  But  though 
justification  and  sanctification  be  inseparably  connected,  yet 
they  are  totally  distinct,  and  the  blending  of  them  together 
perverts  both  the  law  and  the  gospel.  Justification,  accord- 
ing to  the  use  of  the  word  in  Scripture,  must  be  understood 
forensically ;  it  is  a  law  term,  derived  from  human  courts  of 
judicature,  and  signifies,  not  the  making  of  a  person  righteous, 
but  the  holding  and  declaring  him  to  be  righteous  in  law. 
The  forensic  sense  of  the  word  is  manifest  from  its  being  fre- 
quently opposed  to  condemnation. — Deut.  xxv.  1 ;  Prov.  xvii. 
15 ;  Rom.  v.  16,  viii.  33,  34. 

Condemnation  lies  not  in  infusing  wickedness  into  a  crimi- 
nal, or  in  making  him  guilty,  but  in  judicially  pronouncing 
sentence  upon  him  according  to  his  transgression  of  the  law; 


126  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

so  justification  does  not  lie  in  infusing  righteousness  into  a 
person,  but  in  declaring  him  to  be  righteous  on  legal  grounds; 
and,  like  the  sentence  of  a  judge,  it  is  completed  at  once. 

Socinians,  and  some  others,  represent  justification  as  con- 
sisting only  in  the  pardon  of  sin.  In  opposition  to  this,  our 
Confession  declares  that  God  justifies  those  whom  he  effec- 
tually calls,  not  only  "  by  pardoning  their  sins,"  but  also  "  by 
accounting  and  accepting  their  persons  as  righteous."  The 
pardon  of  sin  is  unquestionably  one  important  part  of  justi- 
fication. It  consists  in  the  removal  of  guilt,  or  the  absolution 
of  the  sinner  from  the  obligation  to  punishment  which  he 
lay  under  by  virtue  of  the  sentence  of  the  violated  law.  The 
pardon  which  God  bestows  is  full  and  complete.  It  includes 
all  sins,  be  they  ever  so  numerous,  and  extends  to  all  their 
aggravations,  be  they  ever  so  enormous.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  "  I  will  pardon  all  their  iniquities  whereby  they  have 
sinned,  and  whereby  they  have  transgressed  against  me." — 
Jer.  xxxiii.  8.  All  the  sins  of  the  believer  are  at  once  par- 
doned in  his  justification  ;  his  past  sins  are  formally  forgiven, 
and  his  future  sins  will  not  be  imputed,  so  that  he  cannot 
come  into  condemnation. — Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2;  John  v.  24. 
But  the  pardon  of  sin  alone  would  only  restore  the  believer 
to  such  a  state  of  probation  as  that  from  which  Adam  fell ; 
he  would  be  under  no  legal  charge  of  guilt,  but  still  he  would 
have  no  legal  title  to  eternal  life.  But  when  God  justifies  a 
sinner,  he  does  not  merely  absolve  him  from  guilt,  or  from  a 
liableness  to  eternal  death ;  he  also  pronounces  him  righteous, 
and,  as  such,  entitled  to  eternal  life.  Hence,  it  is  called 
"  the  justification  of  life;"  and  they  who  "  receive  the  gift  of 
righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life  by  one,  Jesus  Christ." — 
Rom.  v.  17,  18. 

II.  No  man  can  be  justified  before  God,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  on  the  ground  of  a  personal  righteousness  of  any  kind. 
Romanists,  Socinians,  and  Pelagians,  maintain  that  we  are 
justified  either  by  a  personal  inherent  righteousness,  or  by 
our  own  works*  In  opposition  to  this,  our  Confession  teaches 
that  persons  are  not  justified  "  for  anything  wrought  in  them, 
or  done  by  them,  but  for  Christ's  sake  alone."  That  we 
cannot  be  justified  by  an  inherent  righteousness,  is  manifest, — 
1.  Because  we  can  only  be  justified  on  the  ground  of  a  per- 
fect righteousness,  and  our  inherent  righteousness  is  imper- 

*  The  Church  of  Rome  pleads  for  a  double  justification.  The  first,  con- 
sisting in  the  remission  of  sin  and  the  renovation  of  the  inward  man,  is  said 
to  be  by  faith,  in  a  sense,  however,  which  does  not  exclude  merit  and  predis- 
posing qualifications;  the  second,  whereby  we  are  adjudged  to  everlasting 
Mfe,  is  said  to  be  by  inherent  righteousness  and  by  works,  performed  by  the 
aid  of  that  grace  which  was  infused  in  the  first.  Concil.  Trident.,  sess.  vi.,  de 
justificatione. 


SECT.  1,  2.]  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  127 

feet ;  for  the  Scripture  saith,  "  There  is  no  man  that  sinneth 
not." — 1  Kings  viii.  46.  2.  Because  the  righteousness  by 
which  we  are  justified  is  not  our  own. — Phil.  iii.  9.  3.  Be- 
cause the  sentence  of  justification  must,  in  the  order  of 
nature,  though  not  of  time,  precede  the  implantation  of  in- 
herent holiness.  4.  Because,  if  we  were  justified  by  an 
inherent  righteousness,  it  could  not  be  said  that  God  "  justi- 
fieth  the  ungodly." — Rom.  iv.  5. 

That  we  cannot  be  justified  by  our  own  works  is  no  less 
manifest, — 1.  Because  our  personal  obedience  falls  far  short 
of  the  requirements  of  the  law.  The  law  demands  obedience 
in  all  respects  perfect;  but  "  in  many  things  we  offend  all." — 
James  iii.  2.  2.  Because  our  obedience,  though  it  were  com- 
mensurate to  the  high  demands  of  the  law,  could  not  satisfy 
for  our  past  transgressions.  The  law  requires  not  only  the 
fulfilment  of  its  precept, but  also  the  endurance  of  its  penalty: 
"  Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission." — Heb. 
ix.  22.  3.  Because  we  are  justified  freely  by  grace,  and 
grace  and  works  are  diametrically  opposed. —  Rom.  iii.  24, 
xi.  6.  4.  Because  justification  by  works  not  only  makes 
void  the  grace  of  God,  but  also  renders  the  death  of  Christ 
useless,  and  of  no  effect. — Gal.  ii.  21.*  5.  Because  we  are 
justified  in  such  a  way  as  excludes  all  boasting. — Rom.  iii. 
27.  6.  Because  justification  by  works  is  in  direct  contradic- 
tion to  the  uniform  testimony  of  Scripture.  The  Apostle 
Paul  fully  discusses  the  subject  of  justification  in  his  Epistles 
to  the  Romans  and  to  the  Galatians;  and  in  both  of  these 
Epistles  he  explicitly  declares,  that  "by  the  deeds  of  the 
law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God." — 
Rom.  iii.  20;  Gal.  ii.  16.  In  answer  to  this  argument,  it  has 
been  often  urged,  that  the  works  which  the  apostle  excludes 
from  the  ground  of  the  sinner's  justification  before  God,  are 
only  works  of  the  ceremonial,  not  of  the  moral,  law.  This 
"  witty  shift,"  Calvin  says,  the  "  wrangling  disputants"  of  his 
time  borrowed  from  Origen  and  some  of  the  old  writers;  and 
he  declares  it  is  "  very  foolish  and  absurd,"  and  calls  upon 
his  readers  to  "  maintain  this  for  a  certain  truth,  that  the 
whole  law  is  spoken  of,  when  the  power  of  justifying  is  taken 
away  from  the  law."f  "  The  reference,"  says  Mr  Haldane, 
"  is  to  every  law  that  God  has  given  to  man,  whether  ex- 
pressed in  words  or  imprinted  in  the  heart.  It  is  that  law 
which  the  Gentiles  have  transgressed,  which  they  have 
naturally  inscribed  in  their  hearts.  It  is  that  law  which  the 
Jews  have  violated,  when  they  committed  theft,  adulteries, 

*  See  the  excellent  Sermons  of  Robert  Traill  on  this  text, 
t  Calvin's  Instit.,  book  iii.,  ch.  11,  sect.  19. 


128  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

and  sacrileges,  which  eonvicted  them  of  impiety,  of  evil 
speaking,  of  calumny,  of  murder,  of  injustice.  In  one  word, 
it  is  that  law  which  shuts  the  mouth  of  the  whole  world,  as 
had  heen  said  in  the  preceding  verse,  and  brings  in  all  men 
guilty  before  God."  * 

Others  have  contended  that  the  works  which  the  apostle 
excludes  from  any  share  in  our  justification  are  merely  works 
not  performed  in  faith.  This  allegation  is  equally  groundless; 
for  the  apostle  excludes  works  in  general — works  of  every 
sort,  without  distinction  or  exception  (Eph.  ii.  9,  10);  and 
the  most  eminent  saints  disclaim  all  dependence  upon  their 
own  works,  and  deprecate  being  dealt  with  according  to  their 
best  performances. — Ps.  cxliii.  2;  Phil.  iii.  8,  9. 

Arminians  maintain  that  faith  itself,  or  the  act  of  believ- 
ing, is  accepted  as  our  justifying  righteousness.  In  opposi- 
tion to  this  our  Confession  teaches,  that  God  does  not  justify 
us  *  by  imputing  faith  itself,  the  act  of  believing,  as  our 
righteousness."  And  in  confirmation  of  this,  we  observe, 
that  faith,  as  an  act  performed  by  us,  is  as  much  a  work  of 
obedience  to  the  law  as  any  other ;  and,  therefore,  to  be  jus- 
tified by  the  act  of  faith,  would  be  to  be  justified  by  a  work. 
But  this  is  contrary  to  the  express  declarations  of  Scripture, 
which  exclude  all  sorts  of  works  from  the  affair  of  justifica- 
tion.— Gal.  ii.  16.  Besides,  faith  is  plainly  distinguished 
from  that  righteousness  by  which  we  are  justified.  We  read 
of  "  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ," 
and  of  "  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith." — Rom.  iii. 
22;  Phil.  iii.  9.  No  language  could  more  clearly  show  that 
righteousness  and  faith  are  two  different  things.  "  Nothing," 
says  Mr  Haldane,  "  can  be  a  greater  corruption  of  the  truth 
than  to  represent  faith  itself  as  accepted  instead  of  righteous- 
ness, or  to  be  the  righteousness  that  saves  the  sinner.  Faith 
is  not  righteousness.  Righteousness  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law."  f 

Neonomians  allege,  that  though  we  cannot  fulfil  that  per- 
fect obedience  which  the  law  of  works  demanded,  yet  God 
has  been  graciously  pleased,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  give  us  a 
new  law ;  according  to  which,  sincere  obedience,  or  faith,  repen- 
tance, and  sincere  obedience,  are  accepted  as  our  justifying 
righteousness.  It  may  be  here  remarked,  that  the  Scripture 
nowhere  gives  the  slightest  intimation  that  a  new  and  milder 
law  has  been  substituted  in  place  of  the  law  of  works  ori- 
ginally given  to  man.     Christ  came  "  not  to  destroy  the  law, 

*  Haldane  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  261.  On  this  point  see  also  Owen  on 
Justification,  ch.  14;  Jonathan  Edwards'  Sermons,  pp.  33-52;  Rawlinoi  Jus- 
tification, p.  39  ;  and  Chalmers  on  the  Romans,  pp.  193-199, 

f  Haldane  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  350. 


SECT.  2,  3.]  .      OF  JUSTIFICATION.  129 

but  to  fulfil  it."  The  gospel  was  never  designed  to  teach 
sinners  that  God  will  now  accept  of  a  sincere  instead  of  a  per- 
fect obedience,  but  to  direct  them  to  Jesus  Christ  as  "  the 
end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth." 
The  idea  of  a  new  few,  adapted  to  the  present  condition  of  human 
nature,  reflects  the  greatest  dishonour  both  upon  the  law  and 
the  Lawgiver;  for  it  assumes  that  the  Lawgiver  is  mutable, 
and  that  the  law  first  given  to  man  demanded  too  much. 

III.  The  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sole  ground 
of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God.  It  is  not  his  essential 
righteousness  as  God  that  we  intend,*  for  that  is  incom- 
municable; but  his  mediatory  or  surety-righteousness,  which, 
according  to  our  Confession,  consists  of  his  "  obedience  and 
satisfaction."  That  sinners  are  justified  only  on  this  ground 
might  be  demonstrated  by  a  multiplicity  of  proofs.  None 
can  be  justified  without  a  perfect  righteousness;  for  the  de- 
mands of  the  law  cannot  be  set  aside  or  relaxed.  The  judg- 
ment of  God,  in  pronouncing  the  sinner  righteous,  would  not 
be  according  to  truth,  unless  the  sentence  were  founded  upon 
a  righteousness  adequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  law.  In 
the  Old  Testament,  the  Messiah  is  mentioned  under  this  en- 
dearing name,  "  The  Lord  our  Righteousness"  (Jer.  xxiii.  6) ; 
and  it  is  predicted  that  he  should  "  bring  in  everlasting  righ- 
teousness."— Dan  ix.  21.  In  the  New  Testament,  Christ  is 
said  to  be  "  made  unto  us  righteousness;"  and  we  are  said  to 
be  "made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." — 1  Cor.  i.  30; 
2  Cor.  v.  21.  It  is  declared  that  "by  the  obedience  of  one 
shall  many  be  made  righteous,"  and  that  "  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  one,  the  free  gift  comes  upon  all  men  unto  justifica- 
tion of  life." — Rom.  v.  18,  19. 

IV.  Sinners  obtain  an  interest  in  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  for  their  justification,  by  God  imputing  it  to  them, 
and  their  receiving  it  by  faith.  The  doctrine  of  the  im- 
putation of  Christ's  righteousness  is  rejected,  not  only  by 
Romanists  and  Socinians,  but  by  several  authors  of  widely 
different  sentiments.f  Let  it  be  observed,  that  we  plead  for 
the  imputation  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ  itself,  and  not 
merely  of  its  effects.  "  To  say  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
that  is,  his  obedience  and  sufferings,  are  imputed  to  us  only 
as  to  their  effects,  is  to  say,  that  we  have  the  benefit  of  them, 
and  no  more;  but  imputation  itself  is  denied.  So  say  the 
(Socinians;  but  they  know  well  enough,  and  ingenuously  grant, 

*  This  was  the  opinion  of  Osiander,  a  learned  man,  who  appeared  in  Ger- 
many in  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation,  and  who  gave  Luther  2nd 
Melancthon  much  annoyance  with  his  notions.— See  Mosheim,  cent,  xvi.,  sect. 
3,  p.  2,  ch.  i.,c.  35. 

t  Among  the  authors  here  referred  to,  Dr  Dwight  and  Professor  Stuart 
may  be  mentioned. 


1 30  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

that  they  overthrow  all  true,  real  imputation  thereby."*  The 
effects  of  Christ's  righteousness  are  communicated  to  us  upon 
the  ground  of  the  imputation  of  his  righteousness  itself;  but 
they  are  really  imparted,  and  not  imputed  to  us.  Many,  we 
apprehend,  oppose  the  doctrine  of  imputation,  owing  to  their 
misconception  of  its  proper  nature.  It  does  not  signify  the 
infusion  of  holy  dispositions,  or  the  actual  transference  of 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  to  believers,  so  that  it  becomes 
inherently  and  subjectively  theirs — that  is  impossible,  in  the 
nature  of  things ;  but  the  meaning  is,  that  God  reckons  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  to  their  account,  and,  in  considera- 
tion of  it,  treats  them  as  if  they  were  righteous.  God  does 
not  reckon  that  they  performed  it  themselves,  for  that  would 
be  a  judgment  not  according  to  truth ;  but  he  accounts  it  to 
them  for  their  justification.  "  There  are  certain  technical 
terms  in  theology,"  says  Dr  Chalmers,  "  which  are  used  so 
currently,  that  they  fail  to  impress  their  own  meaning  on  the 
thinking  principle.  The  term  *  impute '  is  one  of  them.  It 
may  hold  forth  a  revelation  of  its  plain  sense  to  you,  when 
it  is  barely  mentioned  that  the  term  impute  in  the  6th  verse 
(Rom.  iv.),  is  the  same  in  the  original  with  what  is  employed 
in  that  verse  of  Philemon  where  Paul  says,  '  If  he  hath 
wronged  thee,  or  oweth  thee  ought,  put  that  on  mine  account.' 
To  impute  righteousness  to  a  man  without  works,  is  simply 
to  put  righteousness  down  to  his  account,  though  he  has  not 
performed  the  works  of  righteousness."+ 

The  doctrine  of  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness 
is  clearly  taught  in  Scripture.  "We  are  represented  as  being 
constituted  righteous  by  the  obedience  of  Christ,  as  we  are 
constituted  sinners  by  the  disobedience  of  Adam ;  and  this 
can  only  be  by  imputation. — Rom.  v.  19.  We  are  also  said 
to  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ,  as  he  was 
made  sin  for  us ;  and  this,  likewise,  could  only  be  by  imputa- 
tion.— 2  Cor.  v.  21.  We  are  expressly  told  that  God  im- 
puteth  righteousness  without  works. — Rom.  iv.  6.  This  im- 
putation proceeds  upon  the  grounds  of  the  believer's  federal 
union  with  Christ  from  eternity,  and  of  his  vital  union  with 
him  in  time.  Christ,  as  the  surety  of  his  spiritual  seed,  en- 
gaged from  everlasting  to  fulfil  this  righteousness  for  them ; 
he  fulfilled  it  in  their  nature,  and  in  their  room ;  and  when 
they  become  vitally  united  to  him  by  the  Spirit  and  by  faith, 
God  graciously  accounts  his  righteousness  to  them  for  their 
justification. 

V.  Faith  is  the  alone  instrument  of  the  sinner's  justifica- 

*  Owen  on  Justification,  ch.  7. 

t  Chalmers'  Lectures  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  208. 


SECT.  2,  3.]  OP  JUSTIFICATION.  131 

tion  That  we  are  justified  by  faith  is  so  frequently  and  ex- 
pressly declared  in  the  Scriptures,  that  no  one  who  professes 
to  receive  the  Word  of  God  as  the  rule  of  his  faith  can  ven- 
ture to  deny  it.  There  are  very  different  opinions,  however,  in 
regard  to  the  office  of  faith  in  the  justification  of  a  sinner. 
Some  say  that  a  sinner  is  justified  by  faith,  as  it  is  an  act 
performed  by  him ;  as  if  faith  came  in  the  room  of  perfect 
obedience,  required  by  the  law.  This  we  have  already  dis- 
proved ;  and  "  it  is  well  known,"  says  Witsius,  "  that  the 
Reformed  Churches  condemned  Arminius  and  his  followers 
for  saying  that  faith  comes  to  be  considered,  in  the  matter 
of  justification,  as  a  work  or  act  of  ours."*  Some  hare  said, 
that  faith  is  to  be  considered  as  the  condition  of  our  justifi- 
cation. The  "  condition  "  of  anything  usually  signifies  that 
which,  being  done,  gives  us  a  right  and  title  to  it,  because  it 
possesses  either  intrinsic  or  conventional  merit.  To  call 
faith,  in  this  sense,  the  condition  of  our  justification,  would 
introduce  human  merit,  to  the  dishonour  of  divine  grace,  and 
would  entirely  subvert  the  gospel.  Some  worthy  divines 
have  called  faith  a  condition,  who  were  far  from  being  of 
opinion  that  it  is  a  condition  properly  so  called,  on  the  per- 
formance of  which  men  should,  according  to  the  gracious 
covenant  of  God,  have  a  right  to  justification  as  their  reward. 
They  merely  intended,  that  without  faith  we  cannot  be  justi- 
fied— that  faith  must  precede  justification  in  the  order  of 
time  or  of  nature.  But  as  the  term  "  condition "  is  very 
ambiguous,  and  calculated  to  mislead  the  ignorant,  it  should 
be  avoided.  Others  have  said  that  faith  justifies,  as  it  is  in- 
formed and  animated  by  charity.  This  is  the  language  of  the 
Romanists;  and  here  we  may  fitly  use  the  words  of  the  heroic 
champion  of  the  Reformation.  Commenting  on  Gal.  ii.  16, 
he  says :  "  This  is  the  true  mean  of  becoming  a  Christian, 
even  to  be  justified  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  by  the 
works  of  the  law.  Here  we  must  stand,  not  upon  the  wicked 
gloss  of  the  schoolmen,  which  say,  that  faith  justifieth  when 
charity  and  good  works  are  joined  withal.  With  this  pes- 
tilent gloss,  the  sophisters  have  darkened  and  corrupted  this 
and  other  like  sentences  in  Paul,  wherein  he  manifestly 
attributeth  justification  to  faith  only  in  Christ.  But  when 
a  man  heareth  that  he  ought  to  believe  in  Christ,  and  yet, 
notwithstanding,  faith  justifieth  not  except  it  be  formed  and 
furnished  with  charity,  by  and  by  he  falleth  from  faith,  and 
thus  he  thinketh :  If  faith  without  charity  justifieth  not, 
then  is  faith  in  vain  and  unprofitable,  and  charity  alone  justi- 
fieth ;  for  except  faith  be  formed  with  charity  it  is  nothing. 
*  Witsius  on  the  Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  viii.,  eh,  3,  sec.  5.'. 


132  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

.  .  .  Wherefore  we  must  avoid  this  gloss  as  a  most  deadly 
and  devilish  poison,  and  conclude  with  Paul, '  that  we  are 
justified,  not  by  faith  furnished  with  chanty,  but  by  faith 
only  and  alone.' "  * 

In  opposition  to  these  various  views  of  the  relation  which 
faith  bears  to  justification,  our  Confession  teaches  that  "  faith, 
receiving  and  resting  on  Christ  and  his  righteousness,  is  the 
alone  instrument  of  justification."  Some  have  misrepresented 
this  expression,  as  if  it  meant  that  faith  is  the  instrument 
wherewith  God  justifies.  But  it  was  never  intended  that 
faith  is  an  instrument  on  the  part  of  God,  but  on  our  part. 
Some  have  also  inaccurately  spoken  of  faith  as  the  instru- 
ment by  which  we  receive  justification.  Faith  is  more  properly 
the  instrument  by  which  we  receive  Christ  and  his  righteous- 
ness.f  Our  Confession  clearly  teaches,  that  faith  is  "the 
instrument  of  justification,"  only  as  it  "  receives  and  rests  on 
Christ  and  his  righteousness."  This,  according  to  Mr  Traill, 
is  "  the  plain  old  Protestant  doctrine,  That  the  place  of  faith 
is  only  that  of  a  hand  or  instrument  receiving  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  for  which  only  we  are  justified."!  The  lan- 
guage of  modern  evangelical  divines  entirely  accords  with 
this  "  old  Protestant  doctrine."  "  Faith,"  says  Mr  Haldane, 
"  does  not  justify  as  an  act  of  righteousness,  but  as  the  in- 
strument by  which  we  receive  Christ  and  his  righteousness."  § 
"  When  we  read  that  we  are  justified  by  faith,"  says  Dr 
Chalmers,  "  one  should  understand  that  faith  is  simply  the 
instrument  by  which  we  lay  hold  of  this  great  privilege."  || 
u  As  the  hand  is  said  to  nourish,"  says  Dr  Colquhoun,  "  be- 
cause it  is  the  instrument  of  applying  food  to  the  body;  so 
faith  justifies,  as  the  hand  or  instrument  of  applying  the 
Redeemer's  righteousness  to  the  soul."  If 

It  is  to  be  carefully  observed,  that  our  Confession  not 
merely  describes  faith  as  the  instrument,  but  as  the  alone  in- 
strument of  justification.  This  is  directed  against  an  error 
of  the  Romanists,  who  hold  that  hope,  and  love,  and  repen- 
tance, are  included  in  faith  as  justifying,  and  concur  with 
faith,  strictly  so  called,  to  justification.  That  we  are  justified 
by  faith  alone,  is  proved  by  such  arguments  as  these  : — We 
are  justified  by  faith,  in  opposition  to  works  (Rom.  iv.  2,  3) — 
faith  alone  receives  and  applies  the  righteousness  of  Christ ; 
we  are  justified  freely  by  grace, and  therefore  by  faith  alone — 

*  Luther's  Commentary  on  the  Galatians.  "  A  book,"  says  Mr  Traill, 
"  that  hath  more  plain  sound  gospel,  than  many  volumes  of  some  other 
divines." 

t  See  President  Edwards'  Sermons,  p.  13.    %  Traill's  Works,  vol.  i.,  p.  298. 

§  Haldane  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  333. 

H   Chalmers  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  272. 

fli  Colquhoun's  Sermons,  p.  147. 


SECT.  3.] 


OF  JUSTIFICATION. 


133 


because  this  alone  is  consistent  with  its  being  by  grace 
(Rom.  iii.  24,  iv.  16);  Abraham  obtained  the  blessing  of 
justification  by  faith  alone,  and  he  was  designed  as  a  pattern 
of  the  way  in  which  all  others,  in  succeeding  ages,  were  to 
be  justified. — Gal.  iii.  6-9. 

The  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone 
were  grossly  calumniated,  as  if  they  had  denied  the  necessity 
of  good  works.  To  guard  against  this  injurious  misrepre- 
sentation, our  Confession  teaches,  that  though  "  faith  is  the 
alone  instrument  of  justification,  yet  it  is  not  alone  in  the 
person  justified."  The  faith  that  justifies  is  a  living  and 
active  principle,  which  works  by  love,  purifies  the  heart,  and 
excites  to  universal  obedience.  It  is  accompanied  with  every 
Christian  grace,  and  productive  of  good  works.  "  Works," 
says  Luther,  "are  not  taken  into  consideration  when  the 
question  respects  justification.  But  true  faith  will  no  more 
fail  to  produce  them,  than  the  sun  can  cease  to  give  light." 
This  suggests  a  distinction,  which  enables  us  to  remove  the 
apparent  discrepancy  between  the  Apostles  Paul  and  James ; 
but  we  forbear  entering  on  that  subject.* 

Section  III. — Christ,  by  his  obedience  and  death, 
did  fully  discharge  the  debt  of  all  those  that  are  thus 
justified,  and  did  make  a  proper,  real,  and  full  satisfac- 
tion, to  his  Father's  justice  in  their  behalf.6  Yet,  inas- 
much as  he  was  given  by  the  Father  for  them,7  and  his 
obedience  and  satisfaction  accepted  in  their  stead,8  and 
both  freely,  not  for  anything  in  them,  their  justification 
is  only  of  free  grace ; 9  that  both  the  exact  justice  and 
rich  grace  of  God  might  be  glorified  in  the  justification 
of  sinners.10 


Rom.  v.  8-10,  19.     1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6. 

Heb.  x.  10.  14.     Dan.  ix.  24,26. 

Isa.  liii.  4-6,  10-12. 
Rom.  viii.  32. 


8  2  Cor.  v.  21.    Matt.  iii.  17.    Eph. 

v.  2. 

9  Rom.  iii.  24.     Eph.  i.7. 
10  Rom.  iii.  26.    Eph.  ii.  7. 


EXPOSITION. 

Socinians  deny  that  Christ  made  any  real  and  proper  satis- 
faction to  divine  justice  in  behalf  of  his  people ;  and  their 
grand  objection  to  this  doctrine  is,  that  it  leaves  no  room  for 
the  exercise  of  grace  in  the  salvation  of  sinners.  Many 
modern  writers,  of  a  different  class,  deny  that  Christ  satisfied 
retributive  justice,  and  insist  that  he  only  satisfied  public  jus- 

*  See  Owen  on  Justification,  ch.  xx. ;  Dick's  Lectures,  vol.  iii.,  pp  380-385  ; 
Hill'sLectures,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  284,285  ;  Turretin's  Inst.  Theo.,  L.  16,  Q.  8;  also 
Turretin'o  Exerc.  Theol.  text.—  lie  Concord.  Paul,  ct  Jac. 


134  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

tice ;  consequently,  they  must  maintain,  that  he  neither  dis- 
charged the  debt  of  those  who  are  justified,  nor  made  a 
proper  satisfaction  in  their  behalf.  Indeed,  they  hold  that  a 
debt  of  obedience  or  a  debt  of  punishment,  is,  in  its  nature, 
intransferable  ;  of  course,  neither  was  transferred  to  Christ, 
and  neither  was  paid  by  him.  The  demands  of  the  law,  in 
respect  both  of  obedience  and  satisfaction,  instead  of  being 
exacted  by  Jehovah,  and  fulfilled  by  Christ,  are,  in  their 
opinion,  by  an  act  of  divine  sovereignty,  "  suspended,  super- 
ceded, overruled."  And  the  chief  argument  which  they  urge 
against  the  doctrine  of  "  a  proper,  real,  and  full  satisfaction" 
to  divine  justice  is,  "  its  excluding  anything  of  the  nature  of 
grace  from  every  part  of  the  process  of  a  sinner's  salvation, 
excepting  the  original  appointment  of  the  Surety."  The 
statement  of  our  Confession,  in  this  section,  is  directly  op- 
posed to  these  views;  and  in  confirmation  of  it,  we  need 
only  refer  to  the  explicit  testimony  of  the  Scriptures.  "  By 
the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." — Rom. 
v.  19.  What  stronger  proof  could  we  desire  that  Christ 
discharged  the  debt  of  obedience  due  by  those  who  are  jus- 
tified ?  "  By  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant 
justify  many;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities." — Isa.  liii.  11. 
"  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
made  a  curse  for  us." — Gal.  iii.  13.  What  words  could  more 
clearly  convey  the  sentiment,  that  Christ  endured  the  very 
penalty  of  the  broken  law,  and  thereby  made  "  a  proper,  real, 
and  full  satisfaction  to  his  Father's  justice,"  in  behalf  of  all 
whom  he  represented?  But  the  justification  of  sinners, 
"  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  instead  of 
excluding  or  obscuring,  serves  rather  to  illustrate  the  glory 
of  the  grace  displayed  in  it.  Grace  shines  in  God's  conde- 
scending to  accept  of  the  righteousness  of  a  surety;  still 
more  in  his  providing  the  surety;  above  all,  in  giving  his 
only  begotten  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  Be- 
sides, that  faith  by  which  we  receive  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  is  the  gift  of  God.— Eph.  ii.  8.  "  The  glory  of  the 
gospel  is,  that  grace  reigns  through  righteousness.  Salvation  is 
of  grace ;  but  this  grace  comes  to  us  in  a  way  of  righteous- 
ness. It  is  grace  to  us ;  but  it  was  brought  about  in  such 
a  way  that  all  our  debt  was  paid.  This  exhibits  God  as  just 
as  well  as  merciful.  Just,  in  requiring  full  compensation  to 
justice;  and  merciful,  because  it  was  he,  and  not  the  sinner, 
who  provided  the  ransom."  * 

Section  IV. — God  did,  from  all  eternity,  decree  to 

*  Haldane  on  the  Romans,  vol.  i.,  p.  320. 


SECT.  4,  5.]  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  1 35 

justify  all  the  elect ; ll  and  Christ  did,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  die  for  their  sins,  and  rise  again  for  their  justifica- 
tion : 12  nevertheless  they  are  not  justified,  until  the 
Holy  Spirit  doth  in  due  time  actually  apply  Christ  unto 
them.13 

11  Gal.  iii.  8.  1  Pet.  i.  2,  19,  20.  Rom.  I  12  Gal.  iv.  4.    1   Tim.  ii.  6.    Rom. 
viii.  30.  iv.  25. 

13  Col.  i.  21,  22.     Gal.  ii.  16.    Tit.  iii.  4-7. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  is  directed  against  the  Antinomian  error,  that 
the  elect  were  justified  from  eternity,  or  when  the  price  of 
their  redemption  was  paid  by  Christ.  It  is  readily  admitted 
that  God,  from  eternity,  decreed  to  justify  the  elect ;  but  till 
the  period  of  effectual  calling  they  are  in  a  state  of  wrath 
and  condemnation. — Eph.  ii.3;  John  iii.  18.  The  righteous- 
ness by  which  they  are  justified  was  perfected  in  Christ's 
death,  and  the  perfection  of  it  was  declared  by  his  resurrec- 
tion, and  they  may  be  said  to  have  been  virtually  justified 
when  Christ  was  accpiitted  and  discharged  as  their  head 
and  representative ;  nevertheless,  they  are  not  actually  and 
formally  justified  until  they  are  vitally  united  to  Christ  by 
faith. 

Section  V. — God  doth  continue  to  forgive  the  sins 
of  those  that  are  justified  : 14  and  although  they  can  never 
fall  from  the  state  of  justification,15  yet  they  may  by 
their  sins  fall  under  God's  fatherly  displeasure,  and  not 
have  the  light  of  his  countenance  restored  unto  them, 
until  they  humble  themselves,  confess  their  sins,  beg 
pardon,  and  renew  their  faith  and  repentance.16 

"  Matt.  vi.  12.  1  John  i.  7,  9 ;  ii.  1,  2.  I  16  Ps.  lxxxix.  31-33 ;  li.  7-12  ;  xxxii. 
16  Lukexxii.  32.    John  x.  28.   Heb.  5.     Matt.  xxvi.  75.    1  Cor.  xi. 

x.  14.  30,  32.    Luke  i.  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

As  justification  is  an  act  completed  at  once,  so  those  who 
are  justified  cannot  come  into  condemnation  :  "  There  is  now 
no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus." — Rom. 
viii.  1.  The  sins  which  they  afterwards  commit  cannot  re- 
voke the  pardon  which  God  has  graciously  given  them ;  but 
they  may  subject  them  to  his  fatherly  displeasure,  and  to 

temporary  chastisements Ps.  lxxxix.  30-33.   Here  we  must 

advert  to  the  well-known  distinction  between  judicial  and 
fatlierly  forgiveness.     Though  God,  in  the  capacity  of  a  judge, 


1 36  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  ^CHAP.  XI. 

• 

pardons  all  the  sins  of  believers,  in  the  most  free  and  uncon- 
ditional manner,  in  the  day  of  their  justification,  yet  that 
forgiveness  which,  as  a  father,  he  bestows  upon  his  justified 
and  adopted  children,  is  not,  in  general,  vouchsafed  without 
suitable  preparation  on  their  part  for  receiving  and  improving 
the  privilege.  They  ought,  therefore,  to  humble  themselves 
before  God,  make  ingenuous  confession  of  their  offences,  re- 
new their  faith  and  repentance,  and  earnestly  supplicate  the 
removal  of  his  fatherly  displeasure,  and  the  restoration  of  his 
paternal  smiles. 

Section  VI. — The  justification  of  believers  under  the 
Old  Testament  was,  in  all  these  respects,  one  and  the 
same  with  the  justification  of  believers  under  the  New 
Testament.17 

11  Gal.  iii.  9,  13,  14.    Rom.  iv.  22-24.    Heb.  xiii.  8. 
EXPOSITION. 

The  reverse  of  this  is  maintained  by  Socinians.  We  shall 
only  observe,  that  though  "  the  righteousness  of  God"  is  now 
more  clearly  manifested  by  the  gospel,  yet  it  was  "  witnessed 
by  the  law  and  the  prophets." — Rom.  iii.  21.  And  those, 
under  the  Old  Testament,  who  laid  hold  upon  that  righteous- 
ness by  faith,  were  as  really  and  fully  justified  as  believers 
under  the  New  Testament.  Paul,  accordingly,  adduces  the 
justification  of  Abraham  as  an  example  of  the  method  in 
which  believers  in  all  ages  must  be  justified. — Rom.  iv.  3. 
Though  the  everlastiug  righteousness  was  not  actually 
brought  in  until  Christ  "  became  obedient  unto  death,"  yet 
the  efficacy  of  his  death  extended  to  believers  under  the 
former  as  well  as  under  the  present  dispensation. 

What  an  invaluable  and  transcendently  glorious  privilege 
is  justification  !  How  unspeakably  blessed  is  the  man  to 
whom  God  imputeth  righteousness  without  works  !  Delivered 
from  the  awful  curse  of  the  broken  law,  and  introduced  into 
a  state  of  acceptance  and  favour  with  God,  all  penal  evil  is 
extracted  out  of  the  cup  of  his  affliction,  death  itself  is 
divested  of  its  sting,  and  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
his  good.  Adorned  with  the  glorious  robe  of  the  Redeemer's 
righteousness,  he  shall  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  un- 
dismayed, while  the  exalted  Saviour  and  Judge  shall  bid 
him  welcome  to  that  state  of  final  and  everlasting  blessed- 
ness which  God  hath  prepared  for  him,  saying,  "  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  But  where  will  the  sin- 
ner and    the  ungodly  appear  in  that  day  when  the  Son  of 


CHAP.  XII.] 


OF  ADOPTION. 


137 


man  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  summon 
them  before  his  august  tribunal  to  receive  their  final  doom? 
How  will  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving — all  who  have  not 
submitted  to  the  righteousness  of  God — then  "  call  to  the 
mountains  and  rocks  to  fall  upon  them  and  hide  them  from 
the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb."  Let  those  who  have  hitherto  been 
laboui-ing  to  establish  their  own  righteousness  cease  from  the 
vain  attempt — let  them  receive  the  gift  of  righteousness 
which  is  presented  for  their  acceptance  in  the  offer  of  the 
gospel — and  let  them  plead  this  perfect  and  glorious  righ- 
teousness, and  improve  it  by  faith,  as  the  sole  ground  of  all 
their  expectations  from  a  God  of  grace  either  in  time  or 
through  eternity.  Renouncing  all  dependence  on  their 
own  works  of  righteousness,  let  them,  like  Paul,  desire  to 
"  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  their  own 
righteousness,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ, 
the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith." 


CHAPTER  XII. 


OF  ADOPTION. 


All  those  that  are  justified,  God  vouchafeth,  in 
and  for  his  only  Son  Jesus  Christ,  to  make  partakers 
of  the  grace  of  adoption :  l  by  which  they  are  taken 
into  the  number,  and  enjoy  the  liberties  and  privileges 
of  the  children  of  God;2  have  his  name. put  upon 
them,3  receive  the  Spirit  of  adoption;4  have  access 
to  the  throne  of  grace  with  boldness;5  are  enabled  to 
cry,  Abba,  Father;6  are  pitied,7 protected,8  provided  for,9 
and  chastened  by  him  as  by  a  father ; 10  yet  never  cast 
off,11  but  sealed  to  the  day  of  redemption,12  and  inherit 
the  promises,13  as  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation.14 


1  Eph.  i.  5.     Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 

2  Rom.  viii.  17.     John  i.  12. 

3  Jer.  xiv.  9 .    2  Cor.  vi.  18. 

iii.  12.      *  Rom.  viii.  15. 
s  Eph.  iii.  12.     Rom.  t.  2. 
«  Gal.  ir.  6. 


7  Ps.  ciii.  13. 

8  Prov.  xiv.  26. 

9  Matt.  vi.  30,  32.  1  Pet.  v.  7. 
0  Heb.  xii.  6.  «  Lara.  iii.  31. 
2  Eph.  iv.  30.     13  Heb.  vi.  12. 

i*  1  Pet.  i.  3,  4.     Heb.  i.  14. 


1 38  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XII. 


EXPOSITION. 

All  men  are  the  children  of  God  in  respect  of  their  creation ; 
for  "  we  are  all  his  offspring."  "  Have  we  not  all  one  Father  ? 
hath  not  one  God  created  us?" — Mai.  ii.  10.  The  members 
of  the  visible  Church  are  the  children  of  God  in  respect  of  an 
external  federal  relation.  They  are  the  visible  family  of  God 
on  earth,  and  enjoy  peculiar  privileges.  At  a  very  early 
period,  the  professors  of  the  true  religion  were  denominated 
*  the  sons  of  God." — Gen.  vi.  2.  God  having  chosen  Israel 
for  his  peculiar  people,  and  conferred  upon  them  many  privi- 
leges which  he  did  not  vouchsafe  to  other  nations,  and  the 
knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God  being  maintained 
amongst  them,  while  all  other  nations  were  sunk  in  igno- 
rance and  idolatry,  they  were  called  "  the  sons  of  God."  The 
Lord  commanded  Pharaoh  to  be  told  concerning  Israel,  "  He 
is  my  son,  even  my  first-born." — Exod.  iv.  22.  This  is  a  great 
blessing;  but  many  who  enjoy  it  are  not  really  the  children 
of  God,  and  shall  at  last  be  cast  out  into  utter  darkness. — 
John  viii.  44 ;  Matt.  viii.  12.  In  a  far  higher  sense  are  all 
those  that  are  justified  the  children  of  God.  They  are  made 
partakers  of  the  grace  of  adoption.  Among  men,  adoption 
signifies  that  act  by  which  a  person  takes  the  child  of 
another  into  the  place,  and  entitles  him  to  the  privileges,  of 
his  own  son.  Spiritual  adoption  is  that  act  by  which  God 
receives  sinners  into  his  family,  and  gives  them  a  right  to  all 
the  privileges  of  his  children.  Sinners  are  naturally  "  the 
children  of  the  devil,"  aliens  to  the  family  of  God,  and  heirs 
of  wrath ;  by  adoption  they  are  translated  out  of  the  family 
of  Satan  into  the  family  of  Heaven,  and  thus  admitted  to 
fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 
as  their  elder  brother,  with  all  the  holy  angels,  and  with  all 
the  saints — both  those  on  earth  and  those  in  heaven.  Thus 
far  there  is.  a  resemblance  between  civil  and  spiritual  adop- 
tion ;  but  there  are  also  important  points  in  which  they  differ. 
Men  adopt  a  stranger  to  supply  a  defect,  but  God  had  no 
such  inducement  to  adopt  any  of  the  children  of  Adam  ;  for 
he  is  infinitely  blessed  in  himself,  and  he  had  "  a  well-beloved 
Son,"  who  was  the  object  of  his  ineffable  delight.  Men 
usually  adopt  only  one  to  be  their  son  and  heir,  but  God  re- 
ceives an  innumerable  multitude  into  his  family,  and  "  brings 
many  sons  to  glory."  Men  are  always  influenced  by  some  real 
or  supposed  excellence  in  the  person  to  whom  they  show  this 
kindness  ;  but  those  whom  God  adopts  are  altogether  desti- 
tute of  any  good  qualifications  to  recommend  them  to  his 
favour. 


CHAP.  XII.]  OF  ADOPTION.  139 

Adoption,  being  a  change  of  state,  is  completed  at  once, 
and  is  equally  the  privilege  of  all  that  truly  believe  in 
Christ. — Gal.  iii.  26,  28.  Some  of  the  children  of  God  may 
excel  others  in  gifts  and  gracious  qualities;  but  the  filial 
relation  to  God  is  the  same  in  all.  This  high  privilege  en- 
tirely flows  from  the  free  and  sovereign  grace  of  God.  In 
the  bestowment  of  this  blessing  there  is  a  display  of  love 
and  grace  which  surpasses  expression,  and  calls  forth  the 
admiration  of  all  who  are  partakers  of  it.  "  Behold,  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we 
should  be  called  the  sons  of  God." — 1  John  iii.  1.  But  divine 
grace  could  only  be  dispensed  to  the  guilty  in  a  way  consis- 
tent with  the  claims  of  justice,  and  the  honour  of  the  law. 
Had  God  received  such  rebels  into  his  favour  and  family 
without  demanding  a  satisfaction  for  their  offences,  this 
would  have  sullied  the  glory  of  his  perfections,  and  dis- 
honoured the  law  which  they  had  violated.  This  privilege, 
therefore,  is  bestowed  on  the  ground  of  the  obedience  and 
satisfaction  of  Christ,  as  the  meritorious  cause  thereof. 
"  When  the  fulness  of  the  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth 
his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem 
them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the 
adoption  of  sons." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  How  amazing  the  conde- 
scension^and  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  endured 
the  curse  of  the  law,  that  the  forfeiture  of  our  sonship  might 
be  reversed  !  As  he  procured  this  privilege  for  us  by  an 
invaluable  price,  so  it  is  only  when  we  are  united  to  him  by 
faith  that  we  become  actually  interested  in  it.  "  As  many 
as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name." — John  i.  12. 

"We  shall  now  take  a  cursory  view  of  the  inestimable 
privileges  of  the  children  of  God. 

1.  They  obtain  a  new  name.  A  stranger  taken  into  the 
family  of  another,  received  the  name  of  the  adopter,  and 
those  whom  God  adopts  "  are  called  by  a  new  name,  which 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  named,"  even  by  the  honour- 
able and  endearing  name  of  "  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Lord  Almighty." — Isa.  lxii.  2;  2  Cor.  vi.  18. 

2.  They  receive  the  spirit  of  adoption.  Rom.  viii.  15; 
Gal.  iv.  6.  The  Spirit  implants  in  them  the  dispositions  of 
children,  and  transforms  them  into  the  image  of  God's  dear 
Son — he  witnesseth  with  their  spirits  that  they  are  the  sons 
of  God — he  seals  them  to  the  day  of  redemption,  and  is  the 
earnest  of  their  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  pur- 
chased possession. — Rom.  viii.  16;  Eph.  i.  13,  14. 

3.  They  have  access  to  the  throne  of  grace  with  boldness. 


1 40  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  XII. 

God  allows  his  children  to  draw  near  to  him  with  freedom, 
to  pour  out  their  hearts  before  him,  to  make  all  their  requests 
known  to  him;  and  they  may  cherish  this  confidence,  that  if 
they  ask  anything  according  to  his  will,  he  heareth  them. — 
1  John  v.  14. 

4.  They  are  the  objects  of  God's  fatherly  sympathy  and 
pity.  He  knows  their  frame,  and  remembers  that  they  are 
but  dust;  and  when  he  sees  it  necessary  to  correct  them,  he 

feels  for  them  with  the  bowels  of  parental  compassion Ps. 

ciii.  13. 

5.  They  enjoy  the  protection  of  their  heavenly  Father. 
Numerous  are  their  spiritual  enemies,  and  manifold  the 
dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed;  but  He  who  neither 
slumbers  nor  sleeps,  watches  over  them  with  unwearied  care. 
He  gives  his  angels  charge  concerning  them,  who  encamp 
around  them,  and,  in  ways  unknown  to  us,  perform  many 
kind  offices  for  them. — Ps.  xxxiv.  7;  Heb.  i.  14. 

6.  They  are  provided  for  by  their  heavenly  Father.  He 
knows  they  need  his  providential  favours  in  this  world,  and 
these  he  does  not  withhold. — Matt.  vi.  30-32;  Ps.  xxxiv.  9, 10. 
For  their  souls  he  has  made  suitable  provision  in  his  Word, 
and  he  communicates  to  them  supplies  of  grace  according  to 
their  diversified  circumstances. — Phil.  iv.  19. 

7.  Paternal  correction  is  not  withheld  when  necessary. — 
Heb.  xii.  6.  This,  indeed,  they  are  apt  to  regard  as  a  punish- 
ment rather  than  a  privilege;  but  it  is  the  fruit  of  paternal 
love,  it  is  intended  for  their  profit,  and  is  promised  as  a  bless- 
ing.— Ps.  lxxxix.  30-34.  These  corrections,  though  not  for 
the  present  joyous,  but  grievous,  promote  their  spiritual  ad- 
vantage; and  many  of  God's  children  have  acknowledged, 
from  their  happy  experience,  that  it  was  good  for  them  to  be 
afflicted. — Ps.  xciv.  12;  cxix.  67,  71;  Job  v.  17. 

8.  Unfailing  establishment  in  their  state  of  sonship,  and 
in  all  the  privileges  connected  with  that  state.  As  their 
heavenly  Father  will  never  cast  them  off,  so  he  secures  that 

they  shall  not  totally  and  finally  depart   from  him Jer. 

xxxii.  40. 

9.  They  are  heirs  of  all  the  promises.  These  are  exceed- 
ing great  and  precious;  they  are  adapted  to  every  condition 
in  which  the  children  of  God  can  be  placed;  and  faithful  is 
He  who  hath  promised. — Heb.  vi.  12,  17. 

10.  They  are  heirs  of  a  rich  and  glorious  inheritance, 
which  is  reserved  for  them  in  heaven. — 1  Pet.  i.  4.  They 
are  said  to  be  "heirs  of  salvation." — Heb.  i.  14;  "heirs  of 
the  grace  of  life," — 1  Pet.  iii.  7;  "heirs  of  the  kingdom," — 
James  ii.  5;  and  "heirs  of  God." — Rom.  viii.  17. 


SECT.  1-3.]  OF  SANCTIFICATION.  141 

How  dignified  are  all  true  believers  !  What  character 
so  honourable  as  that  of  the  sons  of  God  !  True,  the  dignity 
to  which  they  are  advanced  is  not  conspicuous  to  the  world, 
nor  always  discerned  by  themselves ;  but  the  day  of  the 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  will  be  the  day  of  "  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  sons  of  God."  Then  will  Christ  acknowledge 
them  as  his  brethren  before  the  assembled  world,  and  put 
them  in  full  possession  of  that  inheritance  which  he  has  gone  to 
prepare  for  them.  Let  them,  therefore,  look  for  his  glorious 
appearing;  and,  in  the  meantime,  let  them  act  in  accordance 
with  their  high  character  and  their  exalted  prospects — 
walking  as  the  sons  of  God,  harmless  and  without  rebuke, 
and  shining  as  lights  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

OF  SANCTIFICATION. 

Section  I. — They  who  are  effectually  called  and 
regenerated,  having  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit 
created  in  them,  are  further  sanctified  really  and  per- 
sonally, through  the  virtue  of  Christ's  death  and  re- 
surrection,1 by  his  Word  and  Spirit  dwelling  in  them  ; 3 
the  dominion  of  the  whole  body  of  sin  is  destroyed,3  and 
the  several  lusts  thereof  are  more  and  more  weakened 
and  mortified,4  and  they  more  and  more  quickened  and 
strengthened  in  all  saving  graces,5  to  the  practice  of  true 
holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.6 

Section  II. — This  sanctification  is  throughout  in  the 
whole  man,7  yet  imperfect  in  this  life  :  there  abideth  still 
some  remnants  of  corruption  in  every  part : 8  whence 
ariseth  a  continual  and  irreconcileable  war;  the  flesh 
lusting  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the 
flesh.9 

Section  III. — In  which  war,  although  the  remaining 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  11.     Acts  xx.  32.    Phil.  I  5  Col.  i.  11.     Eph.  iii.  16-19. 

iii.  10.     Kom.  vi.  5,6.  6  2  Cor.  vii.  1.     Heb.  xii.  14. 

2  John  xvii.  17.    Eph.  v.  26.  2  Thess.  |  »  1  Thess.  v.  23. 

ii.  13.  I  8  1  John  i.  10.  Rom.  vii.  18,  23.  Phil. 

3  Rom.  vi.  6,  14.  1  iii.  12. 

Gal.  v.  24.     Rom.  viii.  13.  Gal.  v.  17.     1  Pet.  ii.  11. 


142  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

corruption  for  a  time  may  much  prevail,10  yet,  through 
the  continual  supply  of  strength  from  the  sanctifying 
Spirit  of  Christ,  the  regenerate  part  doth  overcome : " 
and  so  the  saints  grow  in  grace,12  perfecting  holiness  in 
the  fear  of  God.13 

10  Rom.  vii.  23.  |  12  2  Pet.  iii.  18.    2  Cor.  iii.  18. 

11  Rom.  vi.  14.      1  John  v.  4.      Eph.     ia  2  Cor.  vii.  1. 

iv.  15,  16.  I 

EXPOSITION. 

In  Scripture,  the  word  sanctification  bears  a  variety  of  senses. 
It  signifies  separation  from  a  common  to  a  sacred  use,  or  dedi- 
cation to  the  service  of  God.  Thus  the  altar,  temple,  priests, 
and  all  the  sacred  utensils,  were  sanctified.  It  also  signifies 
purification  from  ceremonial  defilement. — Heb.  ix.  13.  But 
the  sanctification  of  believers,  of  which  this  chapter  treats, 
consists  in  their  purification  from  the  pollution  of  sin,  and 
the  renovation  of  their  nature  after  the  image  of  God. 

Antinomians  maintain,  that  believers  are  sanctified  only 
by  the  holiness  of  Christ  being  imputed  to  them,  and  that 
there  is  no  inherent  holiness  infused  into  them,  nor  required 
of  them.  This  is  a  great  and  dangerous  error;  and,  in  opposi- 
tion to  it,  our  Confession  asserts,  that  believers  are  really  and 
personally  sanctified.  Their  sanctification  includes  "  the  mor- 
tification of  sin  in  their  members."  It  includes  also  "  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  as  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentle- 
ness, goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance." — Gal.  v.  22. 
These  are  personal  things ;  they  are  wrought  in  the  hearts 
of  believers,  and  produced  in  their  tempers  and  lives.  It 
is  absurd  to  say  they  are  in  Christ,  and  imputed  to  believers; 
they  are  the  effects  of  the  Holy  Spirit  imparted  to  us,  whose 
operations  are  compared,  by  Christ  himself,  to  "  a  well  of 
water  within  us,  springing  up  unto  everlasting  life." 

Romanists,  as  we  formerly  noticed,  confound  justification 
with  sanctification;  and,  as  this  leads  to  various  dangerous 
mistakes,  we  shall  mention  several  points  in  which  they 
differ.  They  differ  in  their  nature :  justification  is  a  rela- 
tive change  of  state  ;  sanctification  is  a  real  change  of  the 
whole  man,  soul  and  body.  They  differ  in  their  order :  justi- 
fication, in  the  order  of  nature,  though  not  of  time,  precedes 
sanctification;  for  righteousness  imputed  is,  in  the  order  of 
nature,  prior  to  holiness,  implanted  and  inherent.  They  differ 
in  their  matter :  the  matter  of  justification  is  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  imputed;  the  matter  of  sanctification  is  an  inherent 
righteousness  communicated.  They  differ  in  their  form :  jus- 
tification is  a  judicial  act,  by  which  the  sinner  is  pronounced 


SECT.  1-3.]  OP  SANCTIFICATION.  143 

righteous  ;  sanetification  is  a  physical  or  moral  act,  or  rather 
a  series  of  acts,  by  which  a  change  is  effected  in  the  qualities 
of  the  soul.  They  differ  in  their  properties :  justification  is 
perfected  at  once,  and  is  equal  in  all  believers  ;  sanetification 
is  imperfect  at  first,  and  exists  in  different  degrees  of  ad- 
vancement in  different  individuals ;  hence  the  former  is  called 
an  act,  and  the  latter  a  work.  Other  points  of  difference  might 
be  mentioned,  but  we  only  add,  that  in  justification  we  receive 
a  title  to  heaven  ;  sanetification  gives  us  a  meetness  for,  and  a 
capacity  of,  enjoying  it. 

Sanetification  is  both  a  privilege  and  a  duty.  In  the  one 
view  it  is  the  work  of  God,  and  in  the  other  it  is  the  work  of 
man,  assisted  by  supernatural  grace.  As  a  privilege,  it  is 
graciously  promised  in  the  gospel. — Ezek.  xxxvi.  27.  As  a 
duty,  it  is  required  by  the  law;  hence  we  are  called  to 
"  make"  to  ourselves  a  "  new  heart,"  and  to  "  cleanse  our- 
selves from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God." — Ezek.  xviii.  31 ;  2  Cor.  vii.  1. 

Sanetification  may  be  considered  as  initial  and  progressive. 
Initial  sanetification  is  the  same  as  regeneration,  whereby  we 
become  "  new  creatures;" — "  old  things  being  done  away, 
and  all  things  becoming  new."  In  progressive  sanetification, 
the  several  lusts  of  the  old  man  are  more  and  more  weakened 
and  mortified.  In  initial  sanetification,  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
enters  the  heart  with  all  his  train  of  graces,  and  implants 
them  there.  In  progressive  sanetification,  these  graces  are 
more  and  more  quickened  and  strengthened.  In  initial  sane- 
tification, a  principle  of  spiritual  life  is  implanted,  and  the 
lineaments  of  the  divine  image  faintly  impressed  upon  the 
soul.  In  progressive  sanetification,  the  spiritual  life  is  in- 
creased, and  the  outlines  of  the  divine  image  gradually  filled 
up.  In  short,  the  same  work  which  is  begun  in  regeneration 
is  carried  on  in  sanetification,  until  the  new  creature  attains 
to  the  full  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ. — Phil.  i.  6. 

Sanetification  extends  to  the  whole  man,  including  all  the 
faculties  of  the  soul,  and  all  the  members  of  the  body. — 
1  Thess.  v.  23.  Our  entire  nature  was  originally  created  in 
the  image  of  God;  by  the  entrance  of  sin  this  image  was 
utterly  defaced  and  lost;  hence  corrupted  and  depraved  na- 
ture is  called  "  the  old  man,"  because  it  infects  the  whole 
man,  and  defiles  both  soul  and  body.  Now,  as  original  cor- 
ruption pervades  the  whole  man,  so  sanctifying  grace  extends 
to  every  part;  hence  our  nature,  as  renewed  after  the  image 
of  God,  is  called  "  the  new  man,"  because  the  holiness  com- 
municated in  sanetification  possesses  and  ennobles  the  whole 
man. 


144  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XIII. 

Sanctification  is  imperfect  in  this  life.  There  hare  been 
men,  and  there  still  are,  who  maintain,  that  sinless  perfection 
is  attainable  in  this  life.  This  is  held  by  Antinomians,  who 
profess  that  the  perfect  holiness  of  Christ  is  imputed  to  be- 
lievers. It  is  held  likewise  by  Romanists,  Socinians,  and 
others,  who  affirm  that  believers  have,  or  may  attain,  a  per- 
fect inherent  holiness.*  The  doctrine  of  sinless  perfection  was 
also  held  by  the  founder  of  the  Methodists;  and  the  same  opi- 
nion is  still  held  by  his  followers,  f  In  opposition  to  such 
views,  our  Confession  decidedly  affirms,  that  sanctification  is 
"  imperfect  in  this  life."  Though  it  extends  to  the  whole 
man,  yet  "there  abideth  still  some  remnants  of  corruption 
in  every  part."  The  S'criptures  abound  with  the  most  ex- 
plicit testimonies  against  the  doctrine  of  sinless  perfection. 
— Eccl.  vii.  20;  James  iii.  2;  Pro  v.  xx.  9;  1  John  i.  8.  The 
epithet  perfect,  is  indeed  applied  to  several  saints,  but  it  must 
be  understood  either  comparatively,  in  which  sense  "  Noah 
was  perfect  in  his  generation;"  or,  as  synonymous  with  sin- 
cerity or  uprightness,  in  which  sense  God  said  to  Abraham, 
"  Walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  That  the  most 
eminent  saints  mentioned  in  Scripture  were  not  free  from 
sin,  is  evident  from  the  defects  and  blemishes  which  are  dis- 
covered in  their  conduct.  They  were  far  from  imagining 
that  they  had  attained  to  sinless  perfection.— Job  ix.  20; 
Ps.  xix.  12  ;  Phil.  iii.  12.  Every  real  Christian  will  certainly 
aspire  after  perfection;  but  none  can  attain  to  absolute  perfec- 
tion in  this  k«fe. 

As  there  is  both  grace  and  the  remainders  of  corruption 
in  every  saint,  it  follows,  that  there  will  be  "  a  continual  and 
irreconcilable  war"  between  these  two  opposite  principles. 
This  conflict  is  described  in  a  very  striking  manner. — Rom. 
vii.;  Gal.  v.  17  Sometimes  the  one  principle  prevails,  and 
sometimes  the  other ;  but  grace  will  finally  overcome. 

The  impulsive  or  moving  cause  of  sanctification  is  the  free 
grace  of  God. — Tit.  iii.  5.  The  meritorious  cause  is  the  blood 
and  righteousness  of  Christ. — Tit.  ii.  14.     The  efficient  cause 

is  the  Holy  Spirit 1  Pet.  1.  2;  2  Thess.  ii.  13;  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 

The  instrumental  cause  is  faith  in  Christ. — Acts.  xv.  9,  xxvi. 
18.  The  external  means  are,  the  Word,  read  and  preached, 
the  sacraments,  and  prayer. — John  xvii.  17;  1  Pet.  ii.  2. 
Providences,  especially  afflictive  dispensations,  are  also 
blessed  for  promoting  the  sanctification  of  believers. — Rom. 
viii.  28,  v.  3-5. 

Holiness,  though  it  cannot  give  us  a  title  to  heaven,  is  in- 

*  For  a  fuller  account  of  these  opinions,  see  Hill's  Lectures,  p.  303. 
t  Richard  Watson's  Theol.  Institutes,  vol.  iv.,  p.  140. 


SECT.    1.]  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  145 

dispensably  necessary.  It  is  necessary  by  a  divine  and  un- 
alterable constitution ;  for  "  without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord." — Heb.  xii.  14.  God  has  enacted  it  as  an  im- 
mutable law,  that  nothing  which  defileth  shall  enter  into  the 
heavenly  city. — Rev.  xxi.  27.  It  is  necessary,  also,  as  a  pre- 
parative for  heaven.  It  is  the  evidence  of  our  title,  and 
constitutes  our  meetness  for  enjoying  the  pleasures  and  en- 
gaging in  the  work  of  the  heavenly  world.  "  Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart ;  for  they  shall  see  God." — Matt.  v.  8. 

Let  us,  then,  in  the  diligent  use  of  appointed  means,  ear- 
nestly "  follow  holiness."  "  This  is  the  will  of  God,  even 
our  sanctification."  This  is  his  express  command :  "  Be  ye 
holy ;  for  I  am  holy."  Those  whom  he  ordained  to  glory  as 
the  end,  he  chose  to  holiness  as  the  means,  without  which 
none  shall  ever  attain  that  end. — Eph.  i.  4.  This  is,  also,  the 
end  of  our  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ. — Eph.  v.  25,  26.  He 
died  not  only  to  save  us  from  wrath,  but  to  save  us  from  our 
sins.  Holiness  was  the  primeval  glory  of  our  nature,  and 
shall  we  not  endeavour  to  recover  that  glory — to  be  restored 
to  the  image  of  him  who  created  us  ?  Holiness  is  eminently 
the  glory  of  God ;  and  shall  we  not  seek  to  resemble  him  in 
sanctity  ?  Holiness  is  necessary  to  make  us  "  meet  for  being 
partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  Pre- 
sumptuous and  delusive  is  that  hope  of  seeing  Christ  here- 
after, which  does  not  produce  an  ardent  desire  and  earnest 
endeavour  to  be  conformed  to  him  here.  "  Every  man  that 
hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure." 
— 1  John  iii.  3. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OF  SAVING  FAITH. 

Section  I. — The  grace  of  faith,  whereby  the  elect  are 
enabled  to  believe  to  the  saving  of  their  souls,1  is  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  their  hearts,2  and  is 
ordinarily  wrought  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word : 3  by 
which  also,  and  by  the  administration  of  the  sacraments, 
and  prayer,  it  is  increased  and  strengthened.4 


Heb.  x.  39. 

1    4 

1  Pet.   ii.   2.     Acts  xx.  32.     Rom, 

2  Cor.  iv.  13.    Eph.  i 

.   17-1&".;  ii.  8. 

iv.  11.     Luke  xvii.  5.     Rom.  i 

Rom.  x.  14,  17. 

16,  17. 

1 46  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £CHAP.  XIV. 

EXPOSITION. 

"  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved;  but 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  is  the  solemn  an- 
nouncement of  the  Saviour  himself.  The  place  thus  assigned 
to  faith  in  the  matter  of  salvation,  shows  that  the  subject  of 
this  chapter  possesses  the  deepest  interest.  If  a  Saviour  was 
necessary  to  the  recovery  of  lost  sinners,  faith  in  that  Saviour 
is  no  less  necessary  to  the  actual  enjoyment  of  salvation. 
The  vast  importance  of  having  scriptural  views  of  the  nature 
of  saving  faith  must,  therefore,  be  obvious.  The  present 
section  teaches  us — 

1.  That  the  subjects  of  this  faith  are  elect  sinners.  All 
whom  God  from  eternity  elected  to  everlasting  life  are  in 
time  brought  to  believe  to  the  saving  of  their  souls.  An 
apostle  affirms :  "  As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life 
believed ;"  and  Christ  himself  declares :  "  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  me  shall  come  to  me." — Acts  xiii.  48;  John  vi.  37. 
"  The  faith  of  God's  elect "  differs  from  every  other  sort  of 
faith.  Saving  faith  is  supernatural — the  act  of  a  renewed 
soul — a  living  principle,  which  purifies  the  heart,  works  by 
love,  and  overcomes  the  world;  it  must,  therefore,  be  widely 
different  from  a  natural,  a  dead,  or  a  common  faith.  It  is 
denominated  "  precious  faith,"  "  faith  unfeigned,"  "  the  faith 
of  the  operation  of  God  ;"  and  that  faith  to  which  the  Scrip- 
ture applies  so  many  discriminating  epithets  must  surely 
possess  some  quality  peculiar  to  itself.  Accordingly,  we 
read  in  Scripture  of*  many  who  believed,  and  yet  did  not 
possess  saving  faith.  Simon  the  sorcerer  believed;  Agrippa 
believed ;  the  hearers  compared  to  the  stony  ground  believed; 
and  many  believed  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  when  they  saw  the 
miracles  which  he  did ;  "  but  he  did  not  commit  himself 
unto  them,  because  he  knew  all  men."  It  is  manifest,  then, 
that  "  they  do  not  speak  accurately,  cautiously,  or  safely, 
who  represent  all  sorts  of  faith  to  be  of  the  same  specific 
nature ;  because  they  may  all  agree  in  some  bare  simple  act 
or  persuasion  of  the  mind.  It  must  be  a  great  and  dange- 
rous mistake  to  think  that  the  belief  of  any  ordinary  fact 
upon  human  testimony,  and  every  assent  given  by  men,  or 
even  devils,  to  any  doctrines  or  facts  recorded  in  Scripture, 
is  of  the  very  same  kind  with  that  which  is  saving,  although 
wanting  so  many  things  essential  to  the  latter,  of  which  so 
much  is  spoken,  and  which  is  so  highly  celebrated  in  the 
Book  of  God .* 

»  The  late  Professor  Bruce's  (of  Whitburn)  Evangelical  Discourses,  p.  106. 
There  are  some  excellent  remarks  on  this  point  in  the  "  Miscellaneous  Ob- 
servations" of  President  Edwards.     After  adducing  several  arguments  to 


SECT.   1.]  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  14? 

2.  That  this  faith  is  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  the  elect  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Some  unequivocally  affirm,  that  every  man 
has  perfect  power  to  believe  the  gospel,  independently  of  the 
Spirit's  influences;  and  others,  who  seem  to  recognise  the 
necessity  of  divine  influence,  do  yet  deny  that  any  direct 
special  influence  is  either  needed  or  bestowed ;  and  therefore 
ultimately  ascribe  the  existence  of  faith  in  one  rather  than 
another  to  the  free-will  of  man.  That  man,  in  his  fallen  state, 
"  has  lost  all  ability  of  will  to  any  spiritual  good  accompany- 
ing salvation,"  we  have  formerly  endeavoured  to  establish,* 
and  shall  only  now  appeal  to  the  explicit  testimony  of  Scrip- 
ture. Faith  is  declared  to  be  "  the  gift  of  God  " — to  be  of 
"  the  operation  of  God  " — and  to  require  the  exertion  of 
"  mighty  power,  like  that  which  wrought  in  Christ  when 
God  raised  him  from  the  dead." — Eph.  i.  19,  ii.  8;  Col.  ii.  12. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  called  "  the  Spirit  of  faith"  (2  Cor.  iv.  13)  j 
and  faith  is  mentioned  among  "  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit" 
(Gal.  v.  22)  ;  because  the  production  of  faith  in  the  hearts  of- 
the  elect  peculiarly  belongs  to  him,  as  the  applier  of  the  re- 
demption purchased  by  Christ. 

3.  That  faith  is  ordinarily  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  the 
elect  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing, 
and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God." — Rom.  x.  17.  Some 
allow  of  no  other  influence  in  this  matter  but  the  outward 
means.  They  explain  aAvay  the  plain  import  of  those  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  which  ascribe  the  production  of  faith  to  an 
immediate  divine  influence,  as  if  no  more  were  intended  than 
that  God  furnishes  men  with  the  truth  and  its  evidence. 
According  to  their  interpretation,  that  emphatic  declaration 
of  Christ,  "  No  man  can  come  to  me  except  the  Father  draw 
him,"  simply  means,  that  the  Father  gives  them  the  Scrip- 
tures. This  is  to  substitute  the  means  in  the  place  of  the 
efficient  agent ;  and  if  the  work  is  effected  simply  by  the 
external  means,  there  can  be  no  propriety  in  speaking  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  having  anything  to  do  in  the  production  of 
faith.  But  our  Confession  clearly  distinguishes  between  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 
There  is  a  distinct  and  immediate  influence  of  the  Spirit  on 

prove  "  that  saving  faith  differs  from  common  faith  in  nature  and  essence.' 
he  says :  "  ISeware  how  you  entertain  any  such  doctrine  as  that  there  is  no 
essential  difference  between  common  and  saving  faith  ;  and  that  both  consit>t 
in  a  mere  assent  of  the  understanding  to  the  doctrines  of  religion.  That  this 
doctrine  is  false,  appears  by  what  has  been  said ;  and  if  it  be  false,  it  must 
needs  be  exceedingly  dangerous."  A  desire  to  simplify  the  notion  of  faith 
has  led  some  late  writers  to  represent  saving  faitli  as  a  simple  belief  of  the 
truth— as  nowise  different,  in  respect  of  act,  from  the  belief  of  any  ordinary 
historical  fact.  Those  who  are  disposed  to  adopt  this  view  of  faith,"  would  do 
well  to  weigh  the  arguments  of  the  acute  Edwards. 
*  See  page  117. 


]  48  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

the  heart ;  but  the  Spirit  usually  works  by  means,  and  the 
Word  read  or  preached  is  the  divinely  appointed  means  by 
■which  he  usually  communicates  his  influence.  Lydia,  in 
common  with  others,  heard  the  Word  preached  by  Paul ;  but 
"  the  Lord  opened  her  heart."  The  apostle  clearly  distin- 
guishes between  the  gospel  and  the  power  which  renders  it 
successful :  "  Our  gospel  came  not  unto  you  in  word  only, 
but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost." — 1  Thess.  i.  5. 

Section  II. — By  this  faith,  a  Christian  believeth  to 
be  true  whatsoever  is  revealed  in  the  Word,  for  the 
authority  of  God  himself  speaking  therein ; 5  and  acteth 
differently  upon  that  which  each  particular  passage 
thereof  containeth ;  yielding  obedience  to  the  commands,6 
trembling  at  the  threatenings,7  and  embracing  the  pro- 
mises of  God  for  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come.8 
But  the  principal  acts  of  saving  faith  are,  accepting, 
receiving,  and  resting  upon  Ghrist  alone  for  justification, 
sanctification,  and  eternal  life,  by  virtue  of  the  covenant 
of  grace.9 

s  John  iv.  42.    1  Thess.  ii.  13.   1  John  I  »  Heb.  xi.  13.     1  Tim.  iv.  8. 

v.  10.     Actsxxiv.  14.  »  John  i.  12.     Acts  xvi.  31.    Gal.  ii. 

Rom.  xvi.  26.  7  Isa.  lxvi.  2.      |  20.     Acts  xv.  11. 

EXPOSITION. 

1.  The  general  object  of  divine  faith  is  the  whole  Word 
of  God.  As  faith,  in  general,  is  an  assent  to  truth  upon 
testimony,  so  divine  faith  is  an  assent  to  divine  truth  upon 
divine  testimony.  Saving  faith,  therefore,  includes  an  assent 
of  the  heart  to  all  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Word  of  God, 
whether  they  relate  to  the  law  or  to  the  gospel;  and  that,  not 
upon  the  testimony  of  any  man  or  Church,  nor  because  they 
appear  agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  natural  reason,  but  on 
the  ground  of  the  truth  and  authority  of  God  himself,  speak- 
ing in  the  Scriptures,  and  evidencing  themselves,  by  their 
own  distinguishing  light  and  power,  to  the  mind.* 

2.  The  special  and  personal  object  of  saving  faith  is  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  To  know  Christ,  and  God  as  manifested 
in  him,  is  comprehensive  of  all  saving  knowledge — a  term  by 
which  faith  is  sometimes  expressed. — John  xvii.  3.  Hence, 
this  faith  is  called  "  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  the  scope 
of  the  apostle's  doctrine  is  thus  described  :  "  Testifying  both 
to  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks  repentance  toward  God,  and 
faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     "  This  faith  consists  in 

*  Owen's  Treatise  on  the  Reason  of  Faith,  and  Halvburton's  Essay  on 
Faith. 


SECT.  2.  J  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  149 

believing  the  testimony  of  God  concerning  his  Son,  and  the 
life  that  is  in  him  for  men.  It  respects  him  in  his  person 
and  whole  character,  according  to  the  revelation  made  of  him, 
and  according  to  the  measure  of  knowledge  a  person  has  of 
him  as  thus  revealed,  especially  as  now  manifested,  and  more 
clearly  exhibited,  and  freely  offered  in  the  gospel.  It  views 
him  in  his  supreme  Deity  as  '  Immanuel,  God  with  us  f  as 
vested  with  all  saving  offices,  so  as  to  bear,  in  the  highest 
sense,  the  name  Jesus  or  Saviour,  Lord  or  King,  the  great 
High  Priest,  Messias,  or  the  Christ  ;  and  as  exercising  all 
his  offices  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  sinners,  with  whom  he 
entered  into  near  affinity,  by  the  assumption  of  their  nature, 
that  he  might  be  capable  of  acting  the  part  of  a  surety  in 
obeying,  dying,  meriting,  and  mediating  for  them."  *  It  will 
not  do  to  limit  the  object  of  saving  faith  to  any  one 
doctrinal  proposition — such  as,  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God 
— or,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh — or,  that  Christ 
died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures.  This,  at  the 
utmost,  would  only  be  giving  credit  to  a  certain  doctrine;  but 
saving  faith  is  a  believing  on  the  person  of  Christ,  or  an 
appropriating  of  Christ  himself,  with  all  the  benefits  and 
blessings  included  in  him.f 

3.  The  principal  acts  of  saving  faith  are,  accepting,  re- 
ceiving, and  resting  upon  Christ.  Romanists  make  faith  to 
be  nothing  more  than  "  a  bare  naked  assent  to  the  truth  re- 
vealed in  the  Word."  This  notion  was  strenuously  opposed 
by  our  Reformers,  and  is  renounced  in  the  National  Covenant 
of  Scotland,  under  the  name  of  a  "  general  and  doubtsome 
faith  ;"  yet,  many  Protestants,  in  modern  times,  represent 
saving  faith  as  nothing  more  than  a  simple  assent  to  the 
doctrinal  truths  recorded  in  Scripture,  and  as  exclusively  an 
act  of  the  understanding.  But,  although  saving  faith  gives 
full  credit  to  the  whole  Word  of  God,  and  particularly  to  the 
testimony  of  God  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  as  has 
been  already  stated,  yet,  its  principal  acts  are  "  accepting, 
receiving,  and  resting  upon  Christ."  True  faith  is  the  be- 
lief of  a  testimony  ;  but  it  must  correspond  to  the  nature  of 
the  testimony  believed.  Were  the  gospel  a  mere  statement 
of  speculative  truths,  or  a  record  of  facts  in  which  we  have 
no  personal  interest,  then,  a  simple  assent  of  the  mind  to 
these  truths — the  mere  crediting  of  these  facts,  would  con- 

*  Professor  Bruce's  Evangelical  Discourses,  p.  108. 

t  Cudworth's  Aphorisms  on  the  Assurance  of  Faith.  A  new  edition  was 
published  in  1829,  with  a  Recommendation  by  the  late  Rev.  John  Brown  of 
Whitburn,  along  with  two  Essays  on  Faith  by  American  Divines :  and  they 
have  been  recently  published  along  with  Treatises  on  Faith  by  E.  Erskine 
and  Dr  Anderson  of  America. 


1 50  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fciIAP.  XIV. 

stitute  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  But  the  gospel  is  not  a  mere 
statement  of  historical  facts,  or  of  abstract  doctrines  respect- 
ing the  Saviour  ;  it  contains  in  it  a  free  otFer  of  Christ,  and 
of  salvation  through  hirn,  to  sinners  of  every  class,  who  hear 
it,  for  their  acceptance.  Saving  faith,  therefore,  that  it  may 
correspond  to  the  testimony  believed,  must  include  the  cor- 
dial acceptance  or  reception  of  Christ,  as  tendered  to  us  in 
the  gospel. 

As  Christ  is  exhibited  in  Scripture  under  various  charac- 
ters and  similitudes,  so  faith  in  him  is  variously  denominated. 
It  is  expressed  by  coming  to  him — by  looking  unto  him — by 
fleeing  to  him  for  refuge — by  eating  his  flesh  and  drinking  his 
blood — by  receieing  him,  and  by  resting  upon  him.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  that  the  terms  employed  in  our  Confession  do  not 
denote  different  acts  of  faith,  but  are  only  different  expres- 
sions of  the  same  act.  Believing  on  Christ  is  called  a  receit- 
ing  of  him,  in  reference  to  his  being  presented  to  poor  sinners, 
as  the  gift  of  God  to  them ;  and  it  is  styled  a  resting  on  him, 
because  he  is  revealed  in  the  gospel  as  a  sure  foundation,  on 
which  a  sinner  may  lay  the  weight  of  his  eternal  salvation 
with  the  firmest  confidence.  It  is  manifest,  that  all  the  figu- 
rative descriptions  of  saving  faith  in  Scripture  imply  a  parti- 
cular application  of  Christ  by  the  soul,  or  a  trusting  in  Christ 
for  salvation  to  one's  self  in  particular;  and  this  is  what  some 
have  called  the  appropriation  of  faith.  It  is  no  less  evident, 
that  in  the  phraseology  of  Scripture,  faith  is  not  simply  an 
assent  of  the  understanding,  but  implies  an  act  of  volition, 
accepting  the  Saviour  and  relying  on  him  for  salvation. 
This  does  not  proceed  upon  any  previous  knowledge  which 
the  sinner  has  of  his  election;  nor  upon  any  persuasion  that 
Christ  died  intentionally  for  him  more  than  for  others,  for 
it  is  impossible  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  these  things 
prior  to  believing;  nor  does  it  proceed  upon  the  persuasion 
that  Christ  died  equally  for  all  men,  and  therefore  for  him  in 
particular ;  nor  upon  the  perception  of  any  good  qualities  in 
himself  to  distinguish  him  from  others ;  but  it  proceeds  solely 
upon  the  free,  unlimited  offer  and  promise  of  the  gospel  to  the 
chief  of  sinners. 

4.  That  the  true  believer  receives  and  rests  upon  Christ 
alone  for  salvation.  This  distinguishes  the  true  believer  from 
such  as  rest  their  hope  of  salvation  on  the  general  mercy  of 
God,  without  any  respect  to  the  mediation  of  Christ,  or  upon 
their  own  works  of  righteousness,  or  upon  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  and  their  own  works  conjoined. 

5.  That  the  true  believer-  receives  and  rests  upon  Christ 
for  a  complete  saltation.    He  trusts  in  Christ  for  salvation  not 


SECT.  3.]  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  151 

only  from  wrath,  but  also  from  sin — not  only  for  salvation 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  but  also  from  its  pollution  and  power — 
not  only  for  happiness  hereafter,  but  also  for  holiness  here. 
In  the  language  of  the  Confession,  he  rests  upon  Christ  "  for 
justification,  sanctification,  and  eternal  life;"  and  that  "  by 
virtue  of  the  covenant  of  grace; "  that  is,  as  these  blessings 
are  exhibited  and  secured  in  that  covenant. 

Section  III. — This  faith  is  different  in  degrees,  weak 
or  strong ; 10  may  be  often  and  many  ways  assailed  and 
weakened,  but  gets  the  victory ;  n  growing  up  in  many 
to  the  attainment  of  a  full  assurance  through  Christ,12 
who  is  both  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith.13 

10  Heb.  v.  13,  14.     Rom.  iv.  1.9,  20.  I  X1  Luke  xxii.  31,  32.     Eph.  vi.  16. 
Matt.  vi.  30 ;  viii.  10.  1  John  v.  4,  5. 

12  Heb.  vi.  11,  12;  x.  22.     Col.  ii.  2.     13  Heb.  xii.  2. 

EXPOSITION. 

Different  interpretations  have  been  put  on  this  section. 
Some  have  maintained,  that  "  assurance  is  here  plainly  made 
a  fruit  and  consequent  of  saving  faith,  and  not  an  essential 
act."*  Others  have  held  that  assurance  is  here  supposed  to 
be  essential  to  saving  faith,  and  that  it  belongs,  in  some  de- 
gree, to  every  believer,  strong  or  weak,  but  is  always  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  of  his  faith.  "  How  faith,"  says  the 
illustrious  Boston,  "  can  grow  in  any  to  a  full  assurance,  if 
there  be  no  assurance  in  the  nature  of  it,  I  cannot  compre- 
hend." And  another,  amplifying  this  idea,  says  :  "  If  there 
was  not  some  degree  of  assurance  in  the  nature  of  faith,  it 
could  never  grow  up  to  full  assurance.  To  what  degree 
soever  anything  may  grow,  it  cannot,  by  its  growth,  assume 
a  different  nature.  It  may  increase  to  a  higher  degree  of  the 
same  kind,  but  not  into  another  kind."f  Perhaps  this  diffe- 
rence of  opinion  has  arisen  from  attaching  a  different  meaning 
to  the  word  assurance.  Those  who  deny  that  assurance  be- 
longs to  the  nature  of  faith,  understand,  by  that  word,  an 
assurance  that  a  person  is  already  in  a  state  of  salvation; 
but  this  sense  of  the  term  is  disavowed  by  those  who  main- 
tain that  assurance  is  essential  to  faith.  "  It  would  greatly 
conduce  to  clear  views  of  this  subject,"  says  one  of  the  latter 
class  of  divines,  "  were  the  distinction  between  the  assurance 
of  faith  and  the  assurance  of  sense  rightly  understood  and  in- 
culcated.    When  we  speak  of  assurance  as  essential  to  faith, 

*  Principal  Hadow's  Sermon  on  1  John  v.  11,  12,  preached  before  the  Synod 
of  Fife,  1719.  p.  33. 
t  Colquhoun's  View  of  Saving  Faith,  p.  247. 


152  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

many  suppose  we  teach  that  none  can  be  real  Christians  who 
do  not  feel  that  they  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  and 
have  not  unclouded  and  triumphant  views  of  their  own  in- 
terest in  Christ,  so  as  to  joy  under  the  manifestations  of 
his  love.  '  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his.'  But  God 
forbid  that  we  should  thus  offend  against  the  generation  of 
his  children.  That  many  of  them  want  such  an  assurance 
may  not  be  questioned.  This,  however,  is  the  assurance, 
not  of  faith,  but  of  sense;  and  vastly  different  they  are.  The 
object  of  the  former  is  Christ  revealed  in  the  Word;  the  ob- 
ject of  the  latter,  Christ  revealed  in  the  heart.  The  ground 
of  the  former  is  the  testimony  of  God  vcithout  us ;  that  of  the 
latter,  the  work  of  the  Spirit  within  us.  The  one  embraces 
the  promise,  looking  at  nothing  but  the  veracity  of  the  pro- 
miser;  the  other  enjoys  the  promise  in  the  sweetness  of  its 
actual  accomplishment.  Faith  trusts  for  pardon  to  the  blood 
of  Christ;  sense  asserts  pardon  from  the  comfortable  intima- 
tions of  it  to  the  soul.  By  faith,  we  take  the  Lord  Jesus  for 
salvation;  by  sense,  we  feel  that  we  are  saved,  from  the 
Spirit's  shining  on  his  own  gracious  work  in  our  hearts."  * 
The  distinction  between  these  two  kinds  of  assurance  has 
been  accurately  drawn  by  Dr  M'Crie,  and  extremes  on  both 
hands  judiciously  pointed  out.  "  Assurance,"  says  he,  "  is  of 
two  kinds,  which  have  been  designed  the  assurance  of  faith 
and  the  assurance  of  sense.  The  former  is  direct,  the  latter 
indirect.  The  former  is  founded  on  the  testimony  of  God; 
the  latter,  on  experience.  The  object  of  the  former  is  entirely 
without  us  ;  the  object  of  the  latter  is  chiefly  within  us.  {  God 
hath  spoken  in  his  holiness,  I  will  rejoice,'  is  the  language 
of  the  former;  *  We  are  his  workmanship,  created  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus,'  is  the  language  of  the  latter.  When  a  man 
gives  me  his  promissory-note,  I  have  the  assurance  of  faith; 
when  he  gives  me  a  pledge,  or  pays  the  interest  regularly,  I 
have  the  assurance  of  sense.  They  are  perfectly  consistent 
with  one  another,  may  exist  in  the  soul  at  the  sametime, 
and  their  combination  carries  assurance  to  the  highest 
point. 

u  Those  who  deny  the  assurance  of  faith,  appear  to  labour 
under  a  mistake,  both  as  to  the  gospel  and  as  to  believing. 
The  gospel  does  not  consist  of  general  doctrines  merely;  but 
also  of  promises  indefinitely  proposed  to  all  who  hear  it;  to 
be  enjoyed,  not  on  the  condition  of  believing,  but  in  the  way 
of  believing.  '  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  trans- 
gressions, for  mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy 

*  Essay  on  Saving  Faith,  by  the  Rev.  Dr  Mason,  New  York  ;  published 
along  with  Cud  worth's  Aphorisms,  pp.  105,  106. 


SECT.  3.]  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  153 

sins.'  '  I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean.'  *  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  mind,  and  write  them 
in  their  hearts.'  '  Behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.'  Can  a  person  believe  these 
promises,  truly  and  with  understanding,  without  having  some 
assurance  of  the  blessings  promised  ?  There  appears  also  to 
be  a  mistake  as  to  the  nature  of  faith,  and  the  place  which 
it  holds  in  the  application  of  redemption.  It  is  a  trusting  in 
Christ,  a  relying  upon  him  for  salvation  upon  the  ground  of 
the  divine  testimony  respecting  him;  and  does  not  this  always 
imply  some  degree  of  assurance  or  confidence  ? 

"  Others  go  to  an  opposite  extreme.  They  maintain,  that 
every  true  Christian  always  enjoys  an  absolute  and  unwaver- 
ing certainty  as  to  his  final  happiness — that  he  is  a  true  be- 
liever, and  in  a  state  of  salvation;  and  they  dwell  on  the 
assurance  of  faith,  to  the  neglect  of  the  evidence  which 
arises  from  Christian  experience  and  growth  in  holiness. 
This  is  apt  to  cherish  a  spirit  of  presumption,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  throw  persons  into  a  state  of  despondency,  on 
the  other.  There  are  various  degrees  of  assurance,  and  in 
some  genuine  believers  it  may  be  scarcely  perceptible.  He 
who  is  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  was  careful  not 
to  break  the  bruised  reed,  or  quench  the  smoking  flax. 
While  he  rebuked  the  unbelief  and  unreasonable  doubts  of 
his  disciples,  he  never  called  in  question  the  reality  of  their 
faith.  He  received  the  man  who  said, '  Lord,  I  believe;  help 
thou  mine  unbelief.'  While  he  said  to  Peter,  '  O  thou  of 
little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ? '  he  took  him  by 
the  hand  and  lifted  him  out  of  the  water.  Grant  that  doubt- 
ing is  sinful;  is  there  a  just  man  on  earth  that  doeth  good 
and  sinneth  not  ?  Are  not  the  love  and  patience,  and  other 
gracious  dispositions  of  a  Christian,  also  sinfully  defective  ? 
Urge  the  admonition,  'Be  not  faithless,  but  believing;'  but 
neglect  not  to  urge  also,  '  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy.'  '  Be 
perfect  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.'  Would  it  not 
be  dangerous  to  the  interest  of  holiness,  and  discreditable  to 
religion,  if  a  person  were  supposed  to  be  in  possession  of  per- 
fect assurance,  while  subject  to  imperfection  in  every  other 
respect  ?  Is  there  not  a  proportional  growth  in  all  the  members 
of  the  spiritual  man  ?  Would  he  not  otherwise  be  a  mon- 
strous creature  ?  Or  is  the  exploded  doctrine  of  sinless  perfec- 
tion in  this  life  to  be  revived  among  us  ?  He  whose  faith  is 
faultless,  and  his  assurance  perfect  and  unvarying,  sees  Christ 
as  he  is,  and  is  already  completely  like  him.  He  would  not 
be  a  fit  inhabitant  of  earth;  and  the  only  prayer  he  could 


154 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


£  CHAP.  XT. 


put  up  would  be,  '  Now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace.' "  *' 


CHAPTER  XV 


OF  REPENTANCE  UNTO  LIFE. 


Section  I. — Repentance  unto  life  is  an  evangelical 
grace,1  the  doctrine  whereof  is  to  be  preached  by  every 
minister  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  that  of  faith  in 
Christ.2  • 

Section  II. — By  it  a  sinner,  out  of  the  sight  and 
sense,  not  only  of  the  danger,  but  also  of  the  filthiness 
and  odiousness  of  his  sins,  as  contrary  to  the  holy  nature 
and  righteous  law  of  God,  and  upon  the  apprehension 
of  his  mercy  in  Christ  to  such  as  are  penitent,  so  grieves 
for  and  hates  his  sins,  as  to  turn  from  them  all  unto 
God,3  purposing  and  endeavouring  to  walk  with  him  in 
all  the  ways  of  his  commandments.4 


1  Zech.  xii.  10.     Acts  xi.  18. 

2  Luke  xxiv.  47.     Mark  i.  15.     Acts 

xx.  21. 

3  Ezek.  xviii.  30.  31 ;  xxxvi.  31.     Isa. 

xxx.  22.    Ps.  li.  4.    Jer.  xxxi. 


18,19.  Joelii.12,13.  Amos  v.  15. 
Ps.  cxix.  128.     2  Cor.  vii.  11. 
Ps.  cxix.  6,  59,  106.      Luke  i.  6. 
2  Kings  xxiii.  25. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  repentance  described  in  this  chapter  is  called  repen- 
tance unto  life,  because  it  is  inseparably  connected  with  the 
enjoyment  of  eternal  life,  and  to  distinguish  it  from  the  sor- 
row of  the  world,  which  worketh  death.  It  is  styled  a  grace, 
because  it  is  the  free  gift  of  God,  and  is  wrought  in  the  heart 
by  the  operation  of  his  Spirit.  "  Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life." — Acts  xi.  18.  "  Turn 
thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned;  surely  after  that  I  was 
turned,  I  repented." — Jer.  xxxi.  18,  19.  This  repentance  is 
also  denominated  an  evangelical  grace,  to  distinguish  it  from 
legal  repentance.  The  latter  flows  from  a  dread  of  God's 
wrath ;  the  former,  from  faith  in  God's  mercy.  In  the  latter, 
the  sinner  is  chiefly  affected  with  the  punishment  to  which 
his  sin  exposes  him;  in  the  former,  he  mourns  for  his  sin  as 
*  M'Crie's  Sermons,  pp.  281-283. 


SECT.   1,  2.]         OF  REPENTANCE  UNTO  LIFE.  155 

offensive  and  dishonouring  to  God.  Cain  and  Judas  repented, 
but  it  was  on  account  of  the  consequences  of  sin  to  them- 
selves ;  whereas  the  true  penitent  mourns  after  a  godly  sort, 
with  a  godly  sorrow,  or  a  sorrow  which  directly  regards 
God.— 2  Cor.  vii.  9,  10. 

That  the  doctrine  of  repentance  is  to  be  preached  by  every 
minister  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  that  of  faith  in  Christ,  is 
asserted  in  opposition  to  a  gross  heresy  of  the  Antinomians, 
who  maintain  that  repentance  ought  not  to  be  preached  by 
any  minister  of  the  gospel ;  alleging  that  it  leads  us  away 
from  Christ,  and  proves  most  hurtful  and  dangerous.  How 
opposite  is  such  a  sentiment  to  the  example  and  command 
of  Christ  himself!  He  preached  the  doctrine  of  repentance 
to  those  who  attended  his  public  ministry.  "  Repent,"  said 
he,  "  and  believe  the  gospel." — Mark  i.  15.  And  in  the 
instructions  which  he  delivered  to  the  apostles,  when  he 
commissioned  them  to  preach  the  gospel,  it  was  expressly 
enjoined  that  "  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations." — Luke  xxiv.  47. 
The  apostles,  accordingly,  inculcated  the  necessity  of  repen- 
tance both  on  Jews  and  Gentiles. — Acts  ii.  38,  hi.  19,  xiv.  15. 
The  apostle  Paul  speaks  of  "  repentance  from  dead  works"  as 
one  of  the  first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ ;  and,  when 
giving  a  summary  of  his  doctrine  before  the  elders  of  Ephesus, 
he  comprehends  the  whole  under  the  two  great  articles  of 
repentance  and  faith :  "  Testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also 
to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  towards 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — Heb.  vi.  1 ;  Acts  xx.  21. 

A  sinner  is  the  only  subject  capable  of  repentance.  Christ 
"  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance;" 
and  he  intimated  that  "just  men  need  no  repentance."  But 
"  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God." 
Repentance,  therefore,  must  be  universally  necessary.  "  God 
now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent;"  and  Jesus 
Christ,  the  faithful  and  true  witness,  has  solemnly  declared 
"  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." — Acts  xvii. 
30;  Luke  xiii.  3. 

1.  True  repentance  springs  from  a  sight  and  sense  of  sin. 
All  men  will  readily  acknowledge,  in  general  terms,  that  they 
are  sinners ;  but  no  man  can  have  a  clear  sight  and  a  feeling 
sense  of  his  sins,  until  the  Holy  Spirit  becomes  his  teacher. 
It  is  his  work  to  convince  of  sin. — John  xvi.  8.  This  he 
does  by  means  of  the  law ;  for  u  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge 
of  sin." — Rom.  iii.  20.  When  the  Spirit  enlightens  the  mind 
of  the  sinner  to  discern  the  purity,  spirituality,  and  vast  extent 
of  the  divine  law,  he  sees  sin  to  be  "  exceeding  sinful."     He 


156  CONFESSION  OF  FATTH.  [CHAP.  XV. 

views  it  as  not  only  dangerous,  but  as  odious  in  itself,  on 
account  of  its  contrariety  to  the  holy  nature  and  righteous 
law  of  God. 

2.  True  repentance  flows  from  an  apprehension  of  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ  to  such  as  are  penitent.  Had  we  reason  to 
regard  God  as  an  inexorable  judge,  we  might,  like  Adam, 
attempt  to  flee  from  his  presence,  and  escape  the  sword  of 
his  avenging  justice ;  but  never  would  we  return  to  him  as 
sincere  penitents.  Blessed  be  God  !  we  have  the  firmest 
grounds  on  which  to  rest  our  faith  of  his  pardoning  mercy. 
He  has  proclaimed  his  name  as  "  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God, 
merciful  and  gracious,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgression, 
and  sin." — Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7.  The  wicked  is  invited  to 
"  forsake  his  way,  and  return  unto  the  Lord,"  encouraged  by 
the  assurance  that  "  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  will 
abundantly  pardon." — Isa.  lv.  7.  "  Jesus  Christ  is  set  forth 
to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood  ;"  "  through 
his  name  is  preached  unto  us  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;"  and 
we  are  assured,  "  that  through  his  name  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins." — Rom.  iii. 
25  ;  Acts  xiii.  38,  x.  43.  Now,  it  is  an  apprehension  of  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  by  faith,  that  melts  the  heart  into 
penitential  sorrow  for  sin.  Of  so  generous  a  nature  is  evan- 
gelical repentance,  that  the  penitent  soul  is  never  so  deeply 
humbled  and  grieved  for  sin,  as  when  it  has  reason  to  hope 
that  a  gracious  God  has  freely  forgiven  it.  This  generous 
temper  is  assigned  to  the  true  penitent  in  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures :  "  Thou  shalt  remember,  and  be  confounded,  and 
never  open  thy  mouth  any  more,  because  of  thy  shame,  when 
I  am  pacified  toward  thee,  for  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith 
the  Lord  God."— Ezek.  xvi.  63. 

"With  regard  to  the  order  of  faith  and  repentance,  it  may 
be  remarked,  that  we  can  form  no  conception  of  a  moment  of 
time  when  the  one  exists  in  the  soul  separate  from  the  other. 
In  point  of  time,  then,  faith  and  repentance  necessarily  ac- 
company each  other ;  but  in  the  order  of  nature,  faith  must 
precede  repentance.  Evangelical  repentance  is  a  turning 
from  sin  to  God ;  but  there  can  be  no  turning  to  God,  except 
through  Christ ;  and  no  coming  to  Christ,  but  by  believing  in 
him. — John  xiv.  6,  vi.  35.  Besides,  evangelical  repentance 
flows  from  love  to  God ;  but  the  exercise  of  unfeigned  love  to 
him  proceeds  from  the  exercise  of  true  faith. — 1  Tim.  i.  5. 
Add  to  this,  it  is  only  by  looking  on  Him  whom  we  have 
pierced,  that  we  can  mourn  after  a  godly  sort,  according  to 
that  remarkable  promise  :  "  They  shall  look  on  me  whom 
they  have  pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him." — Zech. 


SECT.   1,  2.]        OF  REPENTANCE  UNTO  LIFE.  157 

xii.  10.  There  is,  indeed,  a  conviction  of  the  person's  guilt 
and  misery,  accompanied  with  a  kind  of  sorrow  for  sin,  and 
resolutions  to  forsake  it,  because  it  exposes  him  to  ever- 
lasting punishment,  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  must 
precede  the  exercise  of  faith  in  Christ ;  but  this  is  very 
different  from  evangelical  repentance.* 

3.  True  repentance  includes  grief,  or  deep  contrition  and 
godly  sorrow  for  sin.  There  is  a  false  sorrow,  which  many 
mistake  for  the  genuine.  Many  are  grieved  for  their  sin, 
merely  on  account  of  the  punishment  it  is  like  to  bring  upon 
themselves  ;  and  those  who  are  most  deeply  affected  with 
this  kind  of  sorrow,  if  they  succeed  in  allaying  their  fears, 
often  return  to  a  course  of  sinning  with  greater  freedom  and 
impetuosity  than  before.  But  the  sorrow  of  a  true  penitent 
is  for  sin  as  committed  against  God — as  rebellion  against  his 
rightful  authority — as  a  violation  of  his  holy  law,  and  as  a 
most  base,  ungrateful  return  for  all  his  goodness. — Ps.  li.  4. 

4.  True  repentance  includes  hatred  of  sin,  not  only  as  that 
which  exposes  us  to  death,  but  as  hateful  in  itself,  as  the  abo- 
minable thing  which  God  hates,  and  as  that  which  renders 
us  vile  and  loathsome  in  his  sight.  If  this  hatred  of  sin  is 
genuine,  it  will  lead  us  to  loathe  and  abhor  ourselves,  and  it 
will  extend  to  all  sin  in  ourselves  and  others. — Job  xlii.  6 ; 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  31;  Jer.  xxxi.  19;  Ps.  cxix.  128,  136. 

5.  True  repentance  includes  a  turning  from  sin  unto  God, 
with  a  sincere  purpose,  and  endeavour  to  walk  with  him  in  all  the 
ways  of  his  commandments.  This  is  the  crowning  act  and  the 
grand  test  of  genuine  repentance.  Paul  preached  both  to 
Jews  and  Gentiles  "  that  they  should  repent  and  turn  to 
God,  and  do  works  meet  for  repentance." — Acts  xxvi.  20. 
True  penitents  forsake  sin,  with  a  firm  resolution  to  have  no 
more  to  do  with  idols.  They  are  converted  from  the  love  as 
well  as  from  the  practice  of  sin.  They  particularly  guard 
against  those  sins  to  which  they  were  formerly  most  addicted, 
and  before  whose  influence  they  are  most  ready  to  fall. — 
Ps.  xviii.  23.  They  assiduously  watch  against  all  occasions 
of  siu,  and  earnestly  long  for  complete  deliverance  from  it. 
They  return  to  God  as  their  rightful  Lord  and  Master,  re- 
solving, in  dependence  upon  his  grace,  to  "  serve  him  in 
holiness  and  righteousness  all  the  days  of  their  lives."  They 
form  a  steady  and  unshaken  purpose  in  their  hearts,  and 
sedulously  endeavour,  by  watchfulness  and  diligence,  in  the 
constant  \ise  of  all  means,  to  avoid  all  sin,  and  to  practise 

*  Boston's  Miscellany  Questions,  Quest.  3 ;  Colquhoun's  View  of  Saving 
Faith,  p.  303;  Wilson's  (of  London)  Sermons,  p.  390;  Anderson's  (of 
America)  Precious  Truth,  p.  180;  Black's  Sermons,  p.  87. 


158  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XV. 

universal  holiness.  It  is  not  meant  that  true  penitents  have 
attained  to  sinless  perfection ;  for  "  there  is  no  man  that 
liveth  and  siuneth  not."  They  will,  therefore,  find  occasion 
every  day  for  the  renewed  exercise  of  repentance.  All  tears 
will  not  be  wiped  from  their  eyes  until  all  sin  is  perfectly 
removed  from  their  souls. 

Section  III — Although  repentance  be  not  to  be 
rested  in,  as  any  satisfaction  for  sin,  or  any  cause  of  the 
pardon  thereof,5  which  is  the  act  of  God's  free  grace  in 
Christ ; 6  yet  is  it  of  such  necessity  to  all  sinners,  that 
none  may  expect  pardon  without  it.7 

fi  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31,32;  xvi.  61-63.         |  6  Hos.  xiv. 2, 4.  Rom.iii.24.  Eph.i.7. 
7  Luke  xiii.  3,  5.     Acts  xvii.  30,  31. 

EXPOSITION. 

1.  In  opposition  to  the  Romanists,  who  make  satisfaction 
one  of  the  essential  parts  of  repentance,  and  conceive  that 
certain  acts  or  penances,  performed  by  an  offender,  constitute 
a  compensation  for  his  transgression,  in  consideration  of 
which  it  is  forgiven;  and  also  in  opposition  to  Socinians, 
who  deny  the  atonement  for  sin  by  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
maintain  that  repentance  is  the  only  atonement  required; 
our  Confession  asserts,  that  repentance  is  not  to  be  rested  in 
as  any  satisfaction  for  sin,  or  a  cause  of  the  pardon  thereof. 
It  has  already  been  shown,  that  it  must  always  be  the  duty 
of  every  sinner  to  repent;  now,  the  discharge  of  a  present 
duty  can  never  atone  for  past  crimes.  Repentance  is  never 
supposed  to  be  a  legal  ground  for  remitting  the  punishment 
due  to  crimes  committed  against  a  civil  State.  How  unrea- 
sonable, then,  to  suppose  that  it  can  form  a  sufficient  ground 
for  the  pardon  of  sin  as  committed  against  God  !  Christ  has 
fully  satisfied  the  justice  of  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself, 
and  his  blood  alone  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. — 1  John  i.  7. 
To  us  the  pardon  of  sin  is  wholly  gratuitous — "an  act  of 
God's  free  grace  in  Christ" — and,  if  it  be  of  grace,  then  it  is 
no  more  of  works;  and,  therefore,  not  by  repentance,  as  a 
satisfaction  for  sin. 

2.  True  repentance  and  pardon  are  inseparably  connected. 
Though  no  one  is  pardoned  for  his  repentance,  yet  repen- 
tance is  of  such  indispensable  necessity,  that  an  impenitent 
sinner  cannot  be  a  pardoned  sinner.  "  They  are  connected 
in  the  economy  of  salvation,  not  as  cause  and  effect,  but  to 
show  the  consistency  of  a  gratuitous  pardon  with  the  interests 
of  holiness.  For  any  government  to  acquit  a  criminal,  and 
restore  him  to  society  without  some  evidence  of  a  change  of 


SECT.  4,  5.]  OF  REPENTANCE  UNTO  LIFE.  159 

disposition,  would  be  little  else  than  granting  him  a  license 
to  commit  crimes  with  impunity.  But  if  this  would  be  un- 
worthy of  a  human,  how  much  more  of  the  divine  government ! 
God,  for  the  vindication  of  the  honour  of  the  plan  of  mercy, 
has  so  connected  pardon  with  repentance  and  confession — 
the  expression  of  repentance — that  they  are  the  only  certain 
evidences  that  we  are  in  a  pardoned  state;  while  pardon  and 
repentance  are  equally  the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."* 

Section  IV. — As  there  is  no  sin  so  small  but  it 
deserves  damnation ; 8  so  there  is  no  sin  so  great  that  it 
can  bring  damnation  upon  those  who  truly  repent.9 

8  Rom.  vi.  23;  v.  12.     Matt.  xii.  36.    |  9  Isa.lv. 7.  Rom.  viii.  1.  Isa.  i.  16, 18. 
EXPOSITION. 

In  opposition,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  holds  that  some  sins  are  mortal,  and  others  venial — 
that  is,  of  so  trifling  a  nature,  that  they  may  be  expiated  by 
some  temporal  infliction — our  Confession  asserts,  that  "  there 
is  no  sin  so  small  but  it  deserves  damnation;"  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  opposition  to  certain  Anabaptists,  and  some 
others,  who  have  held  that  if  persons,  after  baptism  and 
grace  received,  fall  into  grievous  sins,  there  is  no  pardon  re- 
maining for  them,  even  though  they  should  repent,  our  Con- 
fession asserts,  that  "  there  is  no  sin  so  great  that  it  can 
bring  damnation  upon  those  who  truly  repent."  We  admit 
that  a  great  variety  in  the  degree  of  guilt  attaches  to  different 
sins;  but  we  maintain  that  every  sin  is  worthy  of  death. 
Most  explicit  are  the  declarations  of  an  inspired  apostle  : 
"  The  wages  of  sin  is  death." — Rom.  vi.  23.  "  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  tilings  which  are  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." — Gal.  iii.  10.  Both 
these  texts  are  unquestionably  applicable  to  sin  of  every 
kind.  The  chief  of  sinners,  however,  may  obtain  mercy; 
and  those  who,  after  grace  received,  have  fallen  into  grievous 
sins,  may  truly  repent,  and  obtain  forgiveness.  David,  after 
his  "  great  transgression,"  and  Peter,  after  his  denial  of  his 
Master,  repented  and  were  pardoned. — 2  Sam.  xii.  13  ; 
John  xxi.  19. 

Section  V. — Men  ought  not  to  content  themselves 
with  a  general  repentance,  but  it  is  every  man's  duty  to 
endeavour  to  repent  of  his  particular  sins  particularly.10 

10  Ps.  xix.  13.     Lukexix.8.     1  Tim.  i.  13,  IS. 
*  Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  p.  244. 


1 60  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £ciIAP.  XV. 

EXPOSITION". 
No  man  can  reckon  up  all  his  sins  in  order;  for  °  who  can 
understand  his  errors  ? "  But  it  is  not  enough  to  acknow- 
ledge in  general  terms  that  we  are  sinners;  Ave  should,  by  a 
strict  and  impartial  examination  of  our  hearts  and  ways, 
endeavour  to  obtain  a  discovery  of  those  particular  sins  by 
which  we  have  offended  and  dishonoured  God,  and  should 
"mourn,  every  one  for  his  iniquity."  Thus,  when  David 
was  brought  to  the  exercise  of  true  repentance,  he  not  only 
acknowledged  in  general  that  he  had  sinned,  but  he  had  his 
eye  upon  that  particular  sin  by  which  he  had  in  a  special 
manner  dishonoured  God  :  "  My  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in 
thy  sight." — Ps.  li.  3,  4.  "  I  will  declare  mine  iniquity ;  I 
will  be  sorry  for  my  sin." — Ps.  xxxviii.  18. 

Section  VI — As  every  man  is  bound  to  make  private 
confession  of  his  sins  to  God,  praying  for  the  pardon 
thereof; "  upon  which,  and  the  forsaking  of  them,  he 
shall  find  mercy ; 12  so  he  that  scandalizeth  his  brother, 
or  the  Church  of  Christ,  ought  to  be  willing,  by  a  private 
or  public  confession  and  sorrow  for  his  sin,  to  declare 
his  repentance  to  those  that  are  offended;  13  who  are 
thereupon  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  and  in  love  to  receive 
him.14 

11  Ps.  li.  4,  5, 7,  9,  14  ;  xxxii.  5, 6.         I  13  James  v.    16.       Luke  xvii.  3,  4. 
Ja  Prov.  xxviii.  13.    1  John  i.  9.  Josh.  vii.  19.    Ps.  li. 

"  2  Cor.  ii.  8. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  this  section  we  are  taught — 

1.  That  every  man  ought  to  make  private  confession  of  his 
sins  to  God.  We  cannot  discover  to  God  anything  that  was 
previously  concealed  from  his  omniscient  eye;  but  by  confess- 
ing our  sins  we  give  glory  to  God,  as  well  as  take  shame  to 
ourselves.  Hence  Joshua  said  unto  Achan :  "  My  son,  give,  I 
pray  thee,  glory  to  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  and  make  confession 
unto  him." — Josh.  vii.  19.  To  cover  our  sins  is  to  dishonour 
God,  as  if  he  either  did  not  see,  or  could  not  punish  them; 
whereas,  to  confess  our  sins  is  to  honour  God's  holy  law,  which 
we  have  violated — to  honour  his  omniscience,  which  beheld 
all  our  transgressions — to  honour  his  justice,  which  might 
have  taken  vengeance  upon  them — and  to  honour  his  patience 
and  long-suffering,  which  have  forborne  to  execute  the  merited 
punishment. 

2.  That  those  who  privately  confess  their  sins  to  God,  and 


SECT.  6.]  OF  REPENTANCE  UNTO   LIFE.  161 

forsake  them,  shall  find  mercy,  though  they  do  not.  also  con- 
fess all  their  sins  to  a  priest.  This  is  amply  confirmed  by 
that  inspired  declaration :  "  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall 
not  prosper  ;  but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall 
have  mercy." — Pro  v.  xxviii.  13.  The  experience  of  David 
corresponded  to  this  declaration. — Ps.  xxxii.  5.  But  the 
Church  of  Rome  holds  that  the  auricular  confession  of  sins 
to  a  priest,  and  his  absolution  thereupon  obtained  is  tbe 
only  means  appointed  by  God  for  the  procuring  of  pardon  of 
all  mortal  sins  committed  after  baptism.*  For  such  a  con- 
fession there  is  neither  example  nor  command  in  Scripture. 
The  text  on  which  Romanists  chiefly  rely  (John  xx.  23) 
says  nothing  of  the  confession  of  sins  in  the  ears  of  a  priest ; 
and  the  ministers  of  religion  can  only  remit  sins  declaratively, 
not  authoritatively.  They  can  absolve  from  the  censures  of 
the  Church,  but  not  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  as  committed  against 
God.  In  one  place  we  are  enjoined  to  "  confess  our  faults 
one  to  another"  (James  v.  16);  but  this  confession  is  mutual, 
not  a  confession  by  the  people  to  the  priest.  Christians  ought 
to  confess  their  faults  to  those  whom  they  have  injured ;  but 
the  confession  of  all  their  sins  in  private  to  a  priest,  as  re- 
quired by  the  Church  of  Rome,  is  wholly  unauthorised  by 
Scripture,  and  it  has  been  the  occasion  of  flagrant  abuse. 
"  Not  only  is  auricular  confession  productive  of  much  incon- 
venience to  society,  by  giving  the  ministers  of  religion  an 
undue  and  dangerous  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people 
in  their  most  secret  affairs  ;  but  it  perverts  their  notions  of 
the  justification  of  a  sinner,  and  it  providesra  method  of  quiet- 
ing their  consciences,  which  is  so  easy  of  access  that  it  en- 
courages them  to  sin  with  little  fear."f 

3.  Though  Christians  are  only  required  to  confess  their 
secret  sins  to  God,  who  seeth  in  secret,  yet,  if  they  have 
wronged  a  Christian  brother,  in  his  property  or  good  name, 
they  are  bound  to  confess  their  offence  to  him,  and  to  make 
all  the  reparation  in  their  power  for  the  injury  they  have  done 
to  him  ;  and  upon  their  repentance  he  is  bound  to  forgive 
them. — Matt.  v.  23,  24  ;  Luke  xvii.  3,  4.  When  Christians 
fall  into  public  scandal,  they  should  be  willing  to  make 
a  more  public  confession  of  their  offence,  that  they  may 
openly  honour  that  God  by  their  confession,  whom  they  have 
openly  dishonoured  by  their  conduct  ;  and  the  Church,  upon 
their  repentance,  ought  in  love  to  receive  them,  and  restore 

*  Some  of  the  grossest  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome  respect  the  doc- 
trine of  repentance.  According  to  the  tenets  avowed  in  the  standards  of  that 
Church,  repentance  consists  cf  three  acts— confession  of  sins  to  a  priest,  con- 
trition, or  attrition,  and  satisfaction. 

t  Hill's  Lectures  in  Divinity,  pp.  292,  293. 
L 


1 62  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

them  to  all  their  Christian  privileges.  The  Novations  main- 
tained that  such  as  had  fallen  into  grievous  transgressions, 
especially  those  who  had  apostatized  from  the  faith,  in  a 
time  of  persecution,  were  not  to  be  again  received  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Church.*  But  this  opinion  is  contrary  both 
to  the  precepts  and  examples  of  Scripture.  If  a  man  be 
overtaken  in  a  fault,  they  who  are  spiritual  are  enjoined  to 
restore  such  an  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  considering 
themselves,  lest  they  also  be  tempted. — Gal.  vi.  1.  The 
Church  at  Corinth  was  required  to  forgive  the  incestuous 
person,  upon  his  repentance,  and  receive  him  again  into  com- 
munion, lest  he  should  be  swallowed  up  with  over  much  sor- 
row.—2  Cor.  ii.  7,  8. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OF  GOOD  WORKS. 

Section  I. — Good  works  are  only  such  as  God  hath 
commanded  in  his  Holy  Word,1  and  not  such  as,  without 
the  warrant  thereof,  are  devised  by  men,  out  of  blind 
2eal,  or  upon  any  pretence  of  good  intention.2 

1  Micah   vi.  8.    Rom.  xii.  2.    Heb.  I  2  Matt.  xv.  9.     Isa.  xxix.  13.    1  Pet. 
xiii.  21.  i.  18.     Rom.  x.  2.    John  xvi.  2. 

1  Sam.  xv.  21-23. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  states  what  is  necessary  to  constitute  an  action 
a  good  work,  as  considered  in  itself.     It  must  be  such  as  God 
K  has  commanded  in  his  holy  Word.     The  law  of  God  is  the  sole 
rule  of  man's  obedience,  and  no  action,  how  specious  soever 
in  appearance,  can  be  properly  called  good,  unless  required 
by  the  supreme  legislator.     No  command  of  man  can  make 
.  a  work  good,  unless  it  be,  at  the  sametime,  virtually  or  ex- 
plicitly commanded  by  God.     Those  actions  which  have  no 
warrant  from  the  Word  of  God,  but  are  devised  by  men,  out 
of  blind  zeal,  cannot  be  reckoned  good  works.   On  this  ground 
Christ  rejected  those  services  of  the  Pharisees,  which  had 
no  other  authority  than  the  traditions  of  the  elders,  or  their 
own  enactments,  saying  :  "  Who  hath  required  this  at  your 
hands."     And,  on  the  same  ground,  those  works  of  supersti- 
*  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist.,  cent,  iii.,  ch.  5,  p.  2,  c.  17,  18. 


SECT.  2.]  OF  GOOD  WORKS.  163 

tion  and  will-worship,  which  are  only  enjoined  by  the  com- 
mandments of  men,  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  must  be  rejected. 
"  In  vain,"  said  our  Saviour,  "  do  they  worship  me,  teaching 
for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men." — Matt.  xv.  9. 

Actions  which  God  has  not  commanded  cannot  be  trans- 
formed into  good  works  (as  is  maintained  by  the  Church  of 
Rome),  by  the  good  intention  of  the  agent.     Many  have  pre- 
tended to  act  from  a  good  intention,  when  they  were  acting        ^ 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  revealed  will  of  God. — 1  Sam. 
xiii.  13,  xv.  17-23.    Men  have  thought  that  they  were  doing  /  pd*** 
God  good  service,  when  they  were  committing  the  most  atro- 1 
cious  crimes. — John  xvi.  2  ;  Acts  xxvi.  9. 

A  work  commanded  by  God  is  good,  considered  in  itself; 
but  something  more  is  requisite  to  make  it  good  as  performed 
by  us.  And  no  action  is  a  good  work  in  the  sight  of  God, 
except  it  be  formally  as  well  as  materially  good.  What  things 
are  necessary  to  render  a  work  formally  good,  may  be  learned 
from  the  subsequent  sections  of  this  chapter;  but  we  judge  it 
proper  to  state  them  briefly  in  this  place.  1.  They  must  be/  » 
performed  by  a  person  who  is  justified  by  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,  and  renewed  by  his  Spirit.  2.  They  must  be  done  t—"" 
from  a  right  principle — faith  working  by  love.  There  must 
be  faith  or  persuasion  that  what  we  do  is  commanded  by  God ; 
and  we  must  perform  it  from  a  respect  to  his  authority. — 
Rom.  xiv.  23.  There  must  also  be  a  faith  of  the  acceptance 
of  our  works  only  through  the  mediation  of  Christ.  Our 
obedience  must  likewise  flow  from  love  to  God. — 1  John  v.  3. 
They  must  be  performed  in  a  right  manner.  They  must  be 
done  in  the  strength  of  promised  grace,  and  in  dependence 
upon  the  righteousness  of  Christ  for  acceptance — in  the 
exercise  of  gratitude  to  God  for  all  his  benefits,  and  under  a 
deep  sense  of  our  own  unworthiness.  4.  They  must  be 
directed  to  a  right  end.  Our  works  cannot  be  accounted 
good,  except  our  chief  and  ultimate  end  in  doing  them  be 
the  glory  of  God.— 1  Cor.  x.  31. 

Section  II. — These  good  works,  done  in  obedience 
to  God's  commandments,  are  the  fruits  and  evidences  of 
a  true  and  lively  faith  : 3  and  by  them  believers  manifest 
their  thankfulness,4  strengthen  their  assurance,5  edify 
their  brethren,6  adorn  the  profession  of  the  gospel,7  stop 
the  mouths  of  the  adversaries,8  and  glorify  God,9  whose 

3  James  ii.  18,  22.  I  *  Tit.  ii.  5,  9-12.     1  Tim.  vi.  1. 

4  Ps.  cxvi.  12,  13.     1  Pet.  ii.  9.  |  8  1  Pet.  ii.  15. 

5  1  John  ii.  3,  5.    2  Pet.  i.  5-10.  »  1    Pet.    ii.    12.     Phil.   i.    11.     John 
fi2Cor.  ix.  2      Matt.  v.  16.  \  xv.  8. 


1 64  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

workmanship  they  are,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  there- 
unto ; 10  that,  having  their  fruit  unto  holiness,  they  may 
have  the  end  eternal  life.11 

10  Eph.  ii.  10.     X1  Rom.  vi.  22. 
EXPOSITION. 

Our  good  works  cannot  be  profitable  to  God ;  for  he  is  in- 
finitely perfect  and  all-sufficient  in  himself,  and  no  addition 
can  be  made  to  his  essential  glory  or  felicity. — Job  xxii.  2, 
xxxv.  7.  Neither  can  our  good  works  have  any  influence 
upon  our  justification  before  God  ;  for  "  by  the  deeds  of  the 
law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight." — Rom.  iii. 
20.  Nor  can  our  good  works  be  the  ground  of  our  title  to 
heaven,  or  to  eternal  life;  for  "  eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." — Rom.  vi.  Still,  however, 
the  performance  of  good  works  must  be  constantly  inculcated 
and  earnestly  urged  upon  all  Christians ;  and  they  serve 
many  valuable  purposes.  Hence  the  solemn  injunction  which 
Paul  laid  upon  Titus,  and  in  him  upon  all  other  ministers  of 
the  gospel :  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  these  things  I 
will  that  thou  affirm  constantly,  that  they  which  have  be- 
lieved in  God  might  be  careful  to  maintain  good  works : 
these  things  are  good  and  profitable  unto  men." — Tit.  iii.  8. 
Several  of  the  important  uses  of  good  works  are  here  speci- 
fied. 

1.  They  are  the  fruits  and  evidences  of  a  true  and  lively  faith. 

I  An  inoperative  faith,  which  produces  not  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,  is  pronounced  by  the  Apostle  James  to  be 
dead. — James  ii.  2,  6.  Of  a  living  faith  good  works  are  the 
native  fruits,  and  they  are  the  proper  evidences  that  faith  is  un- 
feigned. "  Show  me,"  says  the  same  apostle,  "  thy  faith  with- 
out thy  works,  and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works." 
— James  ii.  18. 

y-  2.  Good  works  are  suitable  expressions  of  gratitude  to  God. 
None  can  render  any  proper  recompense  to  God  for  his  in- 
estimable blessings;^  but  all  Christians  are  indispensably 
bound  to  glorify  him  by  a  universal  and  cheerful  obedience 
to  his  commandments ;  and  their  good  works  are,  as  it  were, 
thank-offerings  to  God  for  his  benefits  bestowed  upon  them. 

,         3.  Good  works  strengthen  the  assurance  of  believers.     They 

V  both  confirm  their  assurance  of  faith,  and  increase  their  as- 
surance of  personal  interest  in  Christ,  and  his  great  salva- 
tion. "  Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  him,"  says  the 
beloved  disciple,  "  if  we  keep  his  commandments."— 1  John 
ii.  3. 


SECT.  3.]  OP  GOOD  WORKS.  1 65 

4.  The  good  works  of  believers  edify  their  fellow-Christians. 
Those  who  are  careful  to  maintain  good  works  become  pat- 
terns to  others,  and  stir  them  up  to  a  holy  emulation. 
Hence  the  Apostle  Paul  informed  the  believers  at  Corinth, 
that  their  zeal,  in  contributing  for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusa- 
lem, "  had  provoked  very  many." — 2  Cor.  ix.  2. 

5.  They  adorn  the  profession  of  the  gospel.  Practical  godli- 
ness is  the  brightest  ornament  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Hence  Christians  are  exhorted  by  the  faithful  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  their  station  and  relation,  to  "  adorn  the 
doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things." — Tit.  ii.  10. 

6.  They  stop  the  mouths  of  adversaries.  When  professing 
Christians  have  "  a  conversation  becoming  the  gospel,"  and 
are  "  ready  to  every  good  work,"  they  recommend  religion 
to  others,  silence  the  adversaries  of  the  truth,  and  convince 
them  of  the  injustice  of  those  reproaches  which  have  been 
cast  upon  the  gospel,  as  having  a  tendency  to  licentiousness. 
"  So  is  the  will  of  God,"  says  an  apostle,  "  that  with  well- 
doing ye  may  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men." — 
1  Pet.  ii.  15. 

7.  They  glorify  God.  The  more  fruitful  believers  are  in 
good  works,  the  more  is  God  glorified ;  for  "herein"  says  our 
Lord,  "  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit." — 
John  xv.  8.  By  their  good  works  Christians  not  only  glorify 
God  themselves,  but  may  lead  others  to  glorify  him  also. 
"Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,"  says  our  Saviour,  "that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  who 
is  in  heaven." — Matt.  v.  16. 

8.  Good  works  are  essentially  prerequisite  to  an  admission  into 
heaven.  Though  they  do  not  merit  everlasting  life,  yet  they 
are  indispensably  necessary  in  all  who  are  "  heirs  of  the  grace 
of  life."  Believers,  "  being  made  free  from  sin,  have  their 
fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life." — Rom. 
vi.  22. 

Section  III. — Their  ability  to  do  good  works  is  not 
at  all  of  themselves,  but  wholly  from  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.12  And  that  they  may  be  enabled  thereunto, 
besides  the  graces  they  have  already  received,  there  is 
required  an  actual  influence  of  the  same  Holy  Spirit  to 
work  in  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure : 13 
yet  are  they  not  hereupon  to  grow  negligent,  as  if  they 
were  not  bound  to  perform  any  duty  unless  upon  a 
special   motion  of  the  Spirit;   but  they  ought  to  be 

18  John  xv.  4-6.    Ezek.  xxxvi.  26.  27.  { i*  phil.  ii.  13,  iv.  13.    2  Cor.  iii.  5. 


166  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVI. 

diligent   in   stirring  up  the  grace  of  God  that  is  in 
them.14 

14  Phil.    ii.    12.      Heb.    vi.    11,    12.  I  2  Tim.  i.  6.     Acts  xxvi.  6.  7. 

2  Pet.  i.  3,  5,  10, 11.  Isa.  lxiv.  7.  |  Jude  20,  21. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  opposition  to  Pelagians,  Romanists,  and  Arminians,  our 
Confession  asserts,  that  the  ability  of  believers  to  do  good 
works  is  not  of  themselves,  but  wholly  from  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  It  is  to  be  carefully  observed,  that  a  supernatural 
habit,  or  vital  principle  of  grace,  is  infused  or  implanted  in 
the  souls  of  all  true  believers,  in  the  day  of  their  regene- 
ration, whereby  they  are  disposed  and  enabled  to  perform 
acts  of  holy  obedience Ezek.  xxxvi.  26, 27.  But,  notwith- 
standing this  power  or  ability,  which  believers  have  received 
by  habitual  grace,  there  is  required  an  actual  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  unto  their  performance  of  every  single  gracious 
holy  act.  Whatever  furniture  of  habitual  grace  they  may 
have  received,  there  is  an  actual  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  them  necessary  unto  the  actual  gracious  performance  of 
every  duty  of  obedience.  This  is  confirmed — 1.  By  the  ex- 
press declaration  of  our  Saviour :  "  Without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing." — John  xv.  5.  Here  our  Saviour  explicitly  affirms 
that  believers,  who  are  made  partakers  of  habitual  grace,  can- 
not of  themselves,  by  virtue  of  any  grace  they  have  already 
received,  or  without  new  supplies  of  grace  from  him,  do  any- 
thing that  is  spiritually  good  or  acceptable  to  God.  2.  By 
the  acknowledgment  of  Paul,  speaking  in  the  name  of  be- 
lievers :  "  Not  that  we  are  sufficient  of  ourselves,  to  think  any 
thing  as  of  ourselves:  but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God." — 2  Cor. 
iii.  5.  3.  By  the  prayers  of  the  saints  for  new  supplies  of 
grace,  to  enable  them  to  do  the  will  of  God.  Paul  prays  on 
behalf  of  the  Hebrews :  u  The  God  of  peace  make  you  per- 
fect in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  working  in  you  that 
which  is  well-pleasing  in  his  sight." — Heb.  xiii.  20,  21.  The 
necessity,  and  the  efficiency  of  actual  grace  unto  every  ac- 
ceptable act  of  holy  obedience,  cannot  be  more  directly  ex- 


In  opposition,  on  the  other  hand,  to  certain  enthusiasts, 
who  maintain  that  believers  ought  not  to  perform  any  duty  in 
religion,  unless  the  Spirit  within  move  and  excite  them  to 
these  duties,  our  Confession  asserts,  that  believers  ought  not 
to  "  grow  negligent,  as  if  they  were  not  bound  to  perform  any 
duty  unless  upon  a  special  motion  of  the  Spirit ;  but  they 

*  Owen's  Discourse  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit,  book  iv.,  ch.  6,  7. 


SECT.  4.]  OF  GOOD  WORKS.  167 

ought  to  be  diligent  in  stirring  up  the  grace  of  God  that  is  in 
them."  This  is  so  amply  confirmed  by  the  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture to  which  the  compilers  of  our  Confession  refer,  that  we 
feel  it  quite  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  it. 

Section  IV. — They  who  in  their  obedience  attain  to 
the  greatest  height  which  is  possible  in  this  life,  are  so 
far  from  being  able  to  supererogate,  and  to  do  more  than 
God  requires,  as  that  they  fall  short  of  much  which  in 
duty  they  are  bound  to  do.15 

»  Luke  xvii.  10.    Neh.  xiii.  22.   Job  ix.  2,  3.    Gal.  v.  17. 

EXPOSITION. 
This  section  is  levelled  against  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  respecting  works  of  supererogation.  That  Church 
teaches,  that  besides  those  precepts  which  are  binding  on  all, 
and  which  none  can  disobey  without  sin,  there  are  "  counsels 
of  perfection"  given  in  the  New  Testament,  which  men  are 
at  liberty  to  neglect  if  they  please;  and,  therefore,  those  who 
comply  with  these  counsels,  perform  more  than  they  are  bound 
to  do,  and  have,  consequently,  a  superfluous  degree  of  merit, 
that  may  be  transferred  to  others  for  their  benefit.  In  the 
progress  of  the  corruptions  of  that  Church,  it  was  taught  and 
believed,  that  the  whole  stock  of  superfluous  merit,  arising 
out  of  the  good  works  of  those  who  comply  with  the  counsels 
of  perfection,  is  committed  to  the  management  of  the  Pope, 
to  be  parcelled  out  according  to  his  pleasure,  in  such  dispen- 
sations and  indulgences  as  the  sins  and  infirmities  of  other 
members  of  the  Church  appear  to  him  to  stand  in  need  of. 
The  enormous  abuses  of  this  discretionary  power  with  which 
the  Pope  was  invested,  were  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
Reformation.*  In  opposition  to  this  blasphemous  doctrine, 
Protestants  maintain,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  founda- 
tion in  the  Scripture  for  what  the  Papists  call  "  counsels  of 
perfection."  This  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  the  com- 
mands which  devolve  upon  all  men.  We  are  required  "  to 
love  God  with  all  our  heart,  and  with  all  our  soul,  and  with 
all  our  strength,  and  with  all  our  mind;  and  our  neighbour  as 
ourself." — Luke  x.  27.  What  more  can  be  conceived  than  is 
implied  in  these  two  commands  ?  Works  of  supererogation 
have  no  existence  but  in  the  vain  imaginations  of  ignorant 
and  self-righteous  men.  So  far  are  the  most  eminent  saints 
from  exceeding  the  measure  of  their  duty,  that  they  fall  far 
short  of  what  they  are  in  duty  bound  to  do.  "  In  many 
*  Hill's  Lectures  in  Divinity,  vol.  ii.,  p.  302. 


168 


CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  ^CHAP.  XVI. 


things  we  offend  all."  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." — James  iii.  2; 
1  John  i.  8.  Our  Saviour  has  taught  us  to  pray  daily  that 
our  trespasses  may  be  forgiven;  which  necessarily  implies 
that  we  offend  every  day. 

Section  V. — We  cannot,  by  our  best  works,  merit 
pardon  of  sin,  or  eternal  life,  at  the  hand  of  God,  by 
reason  of  the  great  disproportion  that  is  between  them 
and  the  glory  to  come,  and  the  infinite  distance  that  is 
between  us  and  God,  whom  by  them  we  can  neither 
profit  nor  satisfy  for  the  debt  of  our  former  sins ; 16  but 
when  we  have  done  all  we  can,  we  have  done  but  our 
duty,  and  are  unprofitable  servants ;  17  and  because,  as 
they  are  good,  they  proceed  from  his  Spirit ; 18  and  as 
they  are  wrought  by  us,  they  are  defiled  and  mixed  with 
so  much  weakness  and  imperfection,  that  they  cannot 
endure  the  severity  of  God's  judgment.19 


16  Rom.  iii.  20;  iv.  2,  4,  6.  Eph.  ii. 
8,  9.  Tit.  iii.  5-7.  Rom.  viii. 
18.  Ps.  xvi.  2.  Job  xxii.  2,  3  ; 
xxxv.  7,  8. 


17  Lukexvii.  10. 

18  Gal.  v.  22,23. 

19  Isa.    lxiv.  6.     Gal.  v.   17.     Rom. 

vii.  15,  18.  Ps.  cxliii.  2;  cxxx.  3. 


EXPOSITION. 

This  section  is  also  directed  against  an  error  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  which  teaches  that  the  good  works  of  the  saints  are 
meritorious  of  eternal  life.*  That  we  cannot,  by  our  best 
works,  merit  pardon  of  sin,  or  eternal  life,  at  the  hand  of 
God,  appears  from  the  following  considerations: — 1.  Our  Sa- 
viour declares  (Luke  xvii.  10),  that  when  we  have  done  all 
those  things  which  are  commanded  us,  we  are  unprofitable 
servants,  and  have  only  done  that  which  was  our  duty.  2. 
Our  best  works  cannot  be  profitable  to  God,  and  therefore 
can  merit  nothing  at  his  hand. — Ps.  xvi.  2.  3.  All  our 
Avorks,  as  they  are  good,  proceed  from  the  almighty  agency 
of  the  Spirit  of  grace  (Phil.  ii.  13);  and  as  they  are  not  per- 
formed in  our  own  strength,  they  can  merit  no  reward.  4.  Our 
best  works,  as  they  are  wrought  by  us,  have  such  a  mixture 

*  The  schoolmen  in  the  Church  of  Rome  spake  of  meritum  de  congruo—a. 
merit  of  congruity;  and  meritum  de  condigno—a.  merit  of  condignity.  By  the 
former,  they  meant  the  value  of  good  works  previous  to  justification,  which 
it  was  fit  or  congruous  for  God  to  reward  by  infusing  his  grace.  By  the  latter, 
they  meant  the  value  of  good  works  performed  after  justification  in  conse- 
quence of  grace  infused.  These,  although  performed  by  the  grace  of  God, 
were  conceived  to  have  that  intrinsic  worth  which  merits  a  reward,  and  to 
which  eternal  life  is  as  much  due  as  a  wage  is  to  the  servant  by  whom  it  is 
earned.— Hill's  Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  301. 


SECT.  6,  7.]  OF  GOOD  WORKS.  1 G9 

of  sin  in  them,  that,  instead  of  meriting  anything  at  the  hand 
of  God,  they  cannot  endure  the  severity  of  God's  judgment — 
Ps.  cxliii.  2.  5.  Our  hest  works  bear  no  proportion  to  the  in- 
estimable blessing  of  eternal  life  (2  Cor.  iv.  17);  accordingly, 
the  reward  is  represented  "  as  of  grace,  not  of  debt;"  and  we 
are  directed  to  "  look  for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
unto  eternal  life." — Jude  21. 

Section  VI. — Yet,  notwithstanding,  the  persons  of 
believers  being  accepted  through  Christ,  their  good  works 
also  are  accepted  in  him ; 20  not  as  though  they  were 
in  this  life  wholly  unblameable  and  unreprovable  in 
God's  sight ; 21  but  that  he,  looking  upon  them  in  his 
Son,  is  pleased  to  accept  and  reward  that  which  is 
sincere,  although  accompanied  with  many  weaknesses 
and  imperfections.22 

20  Eph.  i.   6.     1    Pet.  ii.   5.     Exod.  |  21  Job  ix.  20.    Ps.  cxliii.  2. 

xxviii.  38.     Gen.  iv.   4.     Heb.     22  Heb.  xiii.  20,  21.     2  Cor.  viii.  12. 
xi.  4.  I  Heb.  vi.  10.     Matt.  xxv.  21, 23. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  teaches  us  that  the  good  works  of  believers, 
although  not  meritorious,  are  yet  accepted  of  God,  through 
Christ.  Here  it  is  only  necessary  to  offer  two  remarks— 1st, 
That  our  persons  must  be  accepted,  before  our  works  of  obe- 
dience can  be  accepted  with  God.  "  The  Lord  had  respect 
unto  Abel,  and  to  his  offering." — Gen.  iv.  4.  In  accepting 
of  his  offering,  God  testified  that  he  had  respect  unto  his 

person ;  i.  e.,  that  he  esteemed  and  accounted  him  righteous 

Heb.  xi.  4.  2d,  That  the  best  of  our  works  are  not  accepted 
as  they  are  ours,  but  only  upon  account  of  the  merit  and 
mediation  of  Christ.  As  our  persons  are  "  accepted  in  the 
Beloved,"  so  our  works  are  only  "  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ."— 1  Pet.  ii.  5. 

Section  VII. — Works  done  by  unregenerate  men, 
although,  for  the  matter  of  them,  they  may  be  things 
which  God  commands,  and  of  good  use  both  to  them- 
selves and  others ; 23  yet,  because  they  proceed  not  from 
an  heart  purified  by  faith ; 24  nor  are  done  in  a  right 
manner,  according  to  the  Word ; 25  nor  to  a  right  end, 
the  glory  of  God ; 26  they  are  therefore  sinful,  and  cannot 

2:1  2   Kings  x.  30,  31.     1  Kings  xxi.  I  2*  Gen.  iv.  5.     Heb.  xi.  4,  6. 
27,  29.    Phil.  i.  13,  16,  18.  |  2«  1  Cor.  xiii.  3.     Isa.  i.  12. 

26  Matt.  vi.  2,  5,  16. 


170  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  XVI. 

please  God,  or  make  a  man  meet  to  receive  grace  from 
God.27  And  yet  their  neglect  of  them  is  more  sinful, 
and  displeasing  unto  God.28 

27  Hag.  ii.  14.    Tit.  i.  15.     Amos  v.  I  28  Ps.  xiv.  4 ;  xxxvi.  3.    Job  xxi.  14, 
21,22.     Hosea  i.  4.     Rora.  ix.  15.    Matt.  xxv.  41-43,  45;  xxiii. 

16.     Tit.  Hi.  5.  23.  , 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  is  again  levelled  against  the  errors  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  The  writers  of  that  Church  hold  that  the 
actions  of  men  in  an  unregenerate  state  can  be  so  pure  as  to 
be  free  from  all  sin,  and  to  merit  at  God's  hand  by  what  they 
call  the  merit  of  congruity.  We  have  formerly  made  a  dis- 
tinction respecting  good  works,  which  claims  attention  here. 
An  action  may  be  materially,  and  yet  not  formally,  good. 
Prayer,  reading  and  hearing  the  Word  of  God,  distributing 
to  the  poor,  are  actions  materially  good ;  but  unless  these 
actions  are  done  by  persons  who  are  "  accepted  in  the  Be- 
loved," and  "  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus" — unless  they  flow 
from  a  right  principle,  are  performed  in  a  right  manner,  and 
directed  to  a  right  end,  they  are  not  formally  good.  Now, 
unregenerate  men  may  do  many  things  that  are  good,  for  the 
matter  of  them,  because  they  are  things  which  God  com- 
mands, and  of  good  use  to  themselves  and  others ;  but,  as 
performed  by  them,  they  are  destitute  of  everything  that 
can  i-ender  an  action  "  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
God."  Explicit  is  the  declaration  of  the  Apostle  Paul  : 
"  They  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God." — Rom. 
viii.  8.  To  be  in  the  flesh  is  to  be  in  a  natural,  corrupt,  de- 
praved state ;  and,  as  a  polluted  fountain  cannot  send  forth 
pure  streams,  nor  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit,  so 
they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  perform  any  work  that  is 
spiritually  good  and  acceptable  to  God.  Instead  of  pleasing 
God,  and  making  them  meet  to  receive  grace  from  him,  all 
the  works  of  unregenerate  men  are  sinful,  and  therefore 
deserve  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God.  "  All  unconverted  per* 
sons  are  said  in  Scripture  to  be  sinners,  or  workers  of  ini- 
quity (Ps.  liii.  4) ;  and  their  works,  how  advantageous  soever 
many  of  them  may  be  to  themselves  or  others,  are  all,  not- 
withstanding, represented  as  sins,  in  the  account  of  an  infi- 
nitely holy  God  (Pro v.  xxi.  4) ;  for  although  many  of  them 
may  be  materially  good,  yet  all  of  them  are  formally  evil,  and 
therefore  they  are  an  abomination  to  him." — Prov.  xv.  8.  * 
It  must  not,  however,  be  inferred,  that  unregenerate  men 
may  live  in  the  neglect  of  any  duty  which  God  has  com- 
*  Colquhoun's  Treatise  on  the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  p.  333. 


SECT.l.]     OP  THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS.        171 

manded.  Though  their  prayers,  for  example,  cannot  be 
acceptable  to  God,  yet  their  neglect  of  prayer  would  be  more 
sinful  and  displeasing  to  him.  This  neglect  is  always  repre- 
sented in  Scripture  as  highly  criminal :  "  The  wicked,  through 
the  pride  of  his  countenance,  will  not  seek  after  God." — Ps.  x.4. 
And  as  this  is  their  sin,  so  the  wrath  of  God  is  denounced 
against  them :  "  Pour  out  thy  fury  upon  the  heathen,  that 
know  thee  not,  and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  upon  thy 
name." — Jer.  x.  25. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  we  would  impress  upon  the 
reader,  that  the  gospel  is  "  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness." 
"  The  grace  of  God,  that  bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  to 
all  men ;  teaching  us  that,  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world."  Nothing  but  the  most  deplorable  ignorance, 
or  the  most  determined  enmity  against  the  truth,  could  ever 
have  led  men  to  set  the  gospel  and  morality  in  opposition  to 
each  other,  or  to  allege  that  the  doctrine  of  grace  tends  to 
licentiousness.  Such  men  know  not  what  they  say,  nor 
whereof  they  affirm.  It  is  by  inculcating  morality  upon 
gospel  principles  that  we  establish  it  upon  the  firmest  basis. 
"  Do  we  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid :  yea, 
we  establish  the  law."  Though  good  works  are  excluded 
from  having  any  meritorious  influence  in  the  matter  of  sal- 
vation, yet,  as  we  have  seen,  they  are  of  indispensable  neces- 
sity, and  serve  many  valuable  purposes.  Let  it,  therefore,  be 
the  study  of  all  who  *  name  the  name  of  Christ"  to  be  "  fruit- 
ful in  good  works,"  that  so  they  may  silence  the  adversaries 
of  the  truth,  recommend  religion  to  all  within  the  sphere  of 
their  influence,  glorify  their  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  and 
promote  their  own  comfort  and  happiness. 


CHAPTER  XVI.. 

OF   THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SATNTS. 

Section  I. — They  whom  God  hath  accepted  in  his 
Beloved,  effectually  called  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit, 
can  neither  totally  nor  finally  fall  away  from  the  state 
of  grace ;  but  shall  certainly  persevere  therein  to  the  end, 
and  be  eternally  saved.1 

1  Phil.  i.  6.    2  Pet.  i.  10.    John  x-  2*.  2D.    1  John  iii.  9.    1  Pet.  i.5,  9. 


172  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

Section  II. — This  perseverance  of  the  saints  depends 
not  upon  their  own  free  will,  but  upon  the  immutability 
of  the  decree  of  election,  flowing  from  the  free  and 
unchangeable  love  of  God  the  Father ; 2  upon  the  efficacy 
of  the  merit  and  intercession  of  Jesus  Christ; 3  the  abiding 
of  the  Spirit,  and  of  the  seed  of  God  within  them  ;  *  and 
the  nature  of  the  covenant  of  grace : 5  from  all  which 
ariseth  also  the  certainty  and  infallibility  thereof.6 

Section  III. — Nevertheless  they  may,  through  the 
temptations  of  Satan  and  of  the  world,  the  prevalency 
of  corruption  remaining  in  them,  and  the  neglect  of  the 
means  of  their  preservation,  fall  into  grievous  sins ; 7  and 
for  a  time  continue  therein  : 8  whereby  they  incur  God's 
displeasure,9  and  grieve  his  Holy  Spirit ; 10  come  to  be 
deprived  of  some  measure  of  their  graces  and  comforts;  " 
have  their  hearts  hardened,12  and  their  consciences 
wounded;13  hurt  and  scandalize  others,14  and  bring 
temporal  judgments  upon  themselves.15 

3  2  Tim.  ii.  18,  19.    Jer.  xxxi.  3.         I    »  Matt.  xxvi.  70,  72,  74.     8  Ps.  li.  14. 

3  Heb.   x.    10,   14;    xiii.  20,   21;  ix.  |    •  Isa.  lxiv.  5,  7,  9.;  2  Sam.  xi.  27. 

12-15.     Rom.viii.  33-39.     John  I  10  Eph.  iv.  30. 

xvii.   11,24.      Luke  xxii.   32.  |  xl  Ps.  li.  8,  10, 12.     Rev.  u.  4.     Cant. 

Heb.  vii.  25."  v.  2-4,  6, 

John  xiv.   16,   17.      1   John  ii.  27;     12  Isa.  lxiii.  17.     Mark  vi.  52  ;  xvi.  14. 

iii.  9.      6  Jer.  xxxii.  40.  |  13  Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4  ;  li.  8. 

«  John  x.  28.    2  Thess.  iii.  3.     1  John  I  "  2  Sam.  xii.  14. 

ii.  19.  |  ls  Ps.  lxxxix.  31,  32.    1  Cor.  xi.  32. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  one  of  the  articles  by 
which  the  creed  of  the  followers  of  Calvin  is  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  followers  of  Arminius.  The  latter  hold, 
that  true  believers  may  fall  into  sins  inconsistent  with  a  state 
of  grace,  and  may  continue  in  apostasy  to  the  end  of  life, 
and  consequently  may  finally  fall  into  perdition.  The  same 
doctrine  is  avowedly  supported  by  the  Church  of  Rome;  for 
the  Council  of  Trent  has  decreed,  that  "  If  any  person  shall 
say  that  a  man  who  has  been  justified  cannot  lose  grace, 
and  that,  therefore,  he  who  falls  and  sins  was  never  truly 
justified,  he  shall  be  accursed."  *  In  opposition  to  this  tenet, 
our  Confession  affirms,  that  true  believers  "  can  neither 
totally  nor  finally  fall  away  from  a  state  of  grace;  but  shall 

*  Decret.  de  Justification,  canon  xxiii. 


SECT.  1-3.]     OF  THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS.     173 

certainly  persevere  therein  to  the  end,  and  be  eternally 
saved."  There  may  seem  to  be  a  redundancy  of  language  in 
this  statement;  for,  if  believers  cannot  fall  totally,  it  follows 
that  they  cannot  fall  finally.  Both  terms,  however,  are  em- 
ployed with  the  utmost  propriety.  "  They  are  intended  to 
oppose  the  doctrine  of  Arminians,  who  affirm,  that  although 
a  saint  may  fall  totally  from  grace,  he  may  be  restored  by 
repentance;  but  that  since  this  is  uncertain,  and  does  not 
always  take  place,  he  may  also  fall  finally,  and  die  in  his  sins. 
Now,  we  affirm,  that  the  total  apostasy  of  believers  is  impos- 
sible, not  in  the  nature  of  things,  but  by  the  divine  constitu- 
tion; and,  consequently,  that  no  man  who  has  been  once 
received  into  the  divine  favour  can  be  ultimately  deprived  of 
salvation."  * 

For  the  purpose  of  explaining  the  doctrine  of  the  perse- 
verance of  the  saints,  and  obviating  objections  against  it,  we 
offer  the  following  observations,  which  will  be  found  embodied 
in  the  several  propositions  of  our  Confession  : — 

1.  The  privilege  affinal  perseverance  is  peculiar  to  true  believers. 

It  is  restricted  in  our  Confession  "  to  those  whom  God 
hath  accepted  in  his  Beloved,  effectually  called,  and  sanctified 
by  his  Spirit."  Many  in  the  visible  Church  are  merely  no- 
minal Christians.  They  are  joined  to  the  Church  by  an 
external  profession;  but  they  are  not  united  to  the  Head  of 
the  Church  by  the  Spirit  of  grace,  and  by  a  living  faith. 
They  assume  the  form  of  godliness,  but  are  strangers  to  its 
power.  They  may  have  a  name  to  live,  but  they  are  spiri- 
tually dead.  Now,  it  is  readily  granted,  that  such  seeming 
Christians  may  finally  apostatize.  They  never  knew  the 
grace  of  God  in  truth,  and  may,  in  a  season  of  trial,  discover 
their  real  character  by  open  apostasy.  They  might  have  a 
splendid  profession  of  religion,  and  be  possessed  of  eminent 
gifts,  and  might  thus  deceive  themselves  and  impose  upon 
others;  but  they  had  not  "the  root  of  the  matter"  in  them. 
And  we  may  assuredly  conclude  of  all  those  who  fall  totally 
and  finally  away,  that  they  were  never  really  u  rooted  and 
grounded  in  Christ."  An  inspired  apostle  declares,  concern- 
ing such  persons  :  "  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  were 
not  of  us  :  for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt 
have  continued  with  us;  but  they  went,  that  they  might  be 
made  manifest,  that  they  were  not  all  of  us." — 1  John  ii.  19. 

This  enables  us  to  explain  the  several  examples  of  apostasy 

mentioned  in  Scripture,  in  perfect  consistency  with  the  final 

perseverance  of  the  saints.     The  stony-ground  hearers,  who 

received  the  Word  with  joy,  and  afterwards  fell  away,  are 

*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iii.   p.  516. 


174  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

expressly  said  to  have  had  no  root  in  themselves,  and  so  en- 
dured only  for  a  while. — Matt.  xiii.  21.  In  Heb.  vi.  4-6, 
some  are  said  to  be  enlightened,  and  to  have  tasted  of  the 
heavenly  gift,  and  to  be  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  have  tasted  the  good  Word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come,  and  yet  it  is  supposed  they  may  fall  away 
and  never  be  restored  again;  but  it  is  evident,  that  notwith- 
standing the  high  things  ascribed  to  them,  they  never  had 
the  truth  of  grace;  for  there  are  better  things,  even  things 
that  accompany  salvation,  expressly  mentioned  (verse  9)  in 
contradistinction  to  their  attainments.  Those  mentioned  by 
another  apostle  (2  Pet.  ii.  20),  who  had  escaped  the  pollutions 
of  the  world,  and  were  again  entangled  therein,  and  over- 
come, had  evidently  never  experienced  a  real  change  of  their 
impure  nature,  though  they  had  an  outward  reformation. 
Such  examples,  or  the  fall  of  such  mere  professors  of  reli- 
gion as  Hymeneus,  Philetus,  and  Demas,  do  not  in  the  least 
invalidate  the  doctrine  of  the  final  perseverance  of  true 
saints. 

It  may  here  be  remarked,  that  as  the  privilege  of  perse- 
verance is  limited  to  true  believers,  so  it  must  be  extended  to 
every  one  of  them.  If  one  of  them  could  be  lost,  this  would 
sap  the  foundation  of  the  comfort  of  the  whole ;  for  the  con- 
dition of  all  would  be  insecure.  Not  only  those  who  have 
a  high  degree  of  grace,  but  all  who  have  true  grace,  though 
but  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed — not  only  the  strong  and 
flourishing,  but  such  as  are  like  "  the  smoking  flax  and 
bruised  reed,"  shall  be  enabled  to  "  hold  on  their  way,"  and 
shall  grow  stronger  and  stronger.  The  same  reasons  hold 
for  the  perseverance  of  all,  as  of  any  who  have  "  obtained 
like  precious  faith;"  and  we  must  either  erase  this  entirely 
from  the  catalogue  of  the  believer's  privileges,  or  maintain 
that  it  extends  to  every  one  of  them. 

II.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  not  owing  to  their  in- 
herent strength,  or  to  any  measure  of  grace  they  have  already  re- 
ceived, but  solely  to  divine  grace.  We  readily  acknowledge, 
that  in  themselves  they  are  utterly  weak,  and  wholly  insuf- 
ficient to  withstand  the  numerous  and  formidable  enemies 
that  are  combined  against  them;  such  as  Satan,  the  world, 
and  the  corruptions  of  their  own  hearts.  If  left  to  contend 
with  their  spiritual  adversaries  in  their  own  strength,  they 
would  be  easily  overcome.  If  their  perseverance  depended 
on  their  own  resolution,  their  faith  would  soon  fail.  How 
strikingly  is  this  humbling  truth  exemplified  in  the  case  of 
Peter  !  He  said  with  confidence  :  "  Though  all  men  should 
be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I  never  be  offended." — 


SECT.  1-3.]    OP  THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS.     175 

"  Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee." — 
Matt.  xxvi.  33,  35.  But  how  soon  was  his  fortitude  shaken  ! 
How  soon  was  his  good  resolution  forgotten,  and  given 
to  the  winds !  He  trusted  too  much  in  his  own  strength, 
and  was  left  to  feel  his  weakness.  He  was  brought  to  the 
trial,  and  his  presumed  strength  was  gone.  He  trembled 
at  the  voice  of  a  maid,  and  denied  his  Lord  with  dreadful 
oaths  and  horrid  imprecations.  What  but  the  prevalent 
prayer,  and  upholding  grace  of  the  Divine  Redeemer,  pre- 
vented him  from  becoming,  like  Judas,  aperfidious.apostate  ! 
But  such  are  the  best  of  saints,  considered  in  themselves. 
Their  perseverance,  therefore,  as  our  Confession  states, 
"  depends  not  upon  their  own  free  will."  They  have  no 
might  in  themselves  to  resist  and  overcome  the  powerful 
foes  united  against  them,  and  they  are  safest  when  most 
deeply  sensible  of  their  own  weakness,  and  most  entirely 
dependent  upon  divine  grace ;  for  "  when  they  are  weak,  then 
are  they  strong." 

III.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  does  not  secure  them 
from  partial  falls,  but  from  total  and  final  apostasy.  Our  Con- 
fession admits,  that  believers  may,  "  through  the  temptations 
of  Satan,  and  of  the  world,  the  prevalency  of  corruption  re- 
maining in  them,  and  the  neglect  of  the  means  of  their  pre- 
servation, fall  into  grievous  sins,  and  for  a  time  continue 
therein."  The  caution  addressed  to  "  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth,  to  take  heed  lest  he  fall,"  and  the  ardent  prayers 
of  the  saints,  that  God  would  "  cleanse  them  from  secret 
faults,  and  keep  them  back  from  presumptuous  sins,"  mani- 
fest, that  though  none  of  the  saints  can  fall  from  a  state  of 
grace,  yet  they  may  fall  into  very  great  sins.  And  the  Scrip- 
tures furnish  many  instances  of  partial  falls  in  the  most  emi- 
nent saints.  The  patient  Job  cursed  the  day  of  his  birth. 
The  man  Moses,  who  was  "  meek  above  all  men  which  were 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth,"  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips. 
David,  the  man  after  God's  own  heart,  was  guilty  of  an 
atrocious  and  a  complicated  sin.  Solomon,  though  the 
wisest  of  men,  "  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  went 
not  fully  after  the  Lord,  as  did  David  his  father."  Peter,  a 
bold  and  zealous  disciple,  denied  his  Lord  in  the  most  ag- 
gravated manner.  But  though  true  saints  may  fall  very 
low,  so  low  that  themselves  and  others  may  have  little  hope 
of  their  recovery,  yet  they  shall  not  be  utterly  lost;  for  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  still  in  a  measure  sustains  them.  "  Though 
a  good  man  fall,  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast  down ;  for  the 
Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand." — Ps.  xxxvii.  24.  "  A 
just  man  falleth  seven  times,  and  riseth  up  again." — Prov. 


176  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

xxiv.  16.  Though  David  fell  into  very  grievous  sins,  and 
appears  to  have  remained  in  a  state  of  great  insensibility  till 
he  was  awakened  by  the  Prophet  Nathan,  yet,  it  is  manifest, 
that  he  had  not  lost  entirely  what  was  wrought  in  him  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  For  we  find  him  afterwards  praying  : 
"  Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence,  and  take  not  thy 
Holy  Spirit  from  me"  (Ps.  li.  11);  which  implies,  that  he 
had  then  some  experience-of  God's  presence,  and  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  never  wholly  departed  from  him.  When  it 
is  said  of  Solomon,  that  "  he  went  not  fully  after  the  Lord, 
as  did  David  his  father"  (1  Kings  xi.  6.),  it  seems  manifest, 
that  his  declension  is  to  be  understood  of  an  abatement  of 
his  former  zeal,  and  not  of  a  total  and  final  apostasy.  God, 
as  still  his  father,  "  chastened  him  with  the  rod  of  men,  and 
with  the  stripes  of  the  children  of  men;"  but  never  suffered 
"his  mercy  to  depart  away  from  him." — 2  Sam.  vii.  14,  15. 
Peter,  too,  was  recovered  from  his  lamentable  fall.  "When 
Christ  "  turned  and  looked  upon  him,  he  went  out,  and  wept 
bitterly." — Luke  xxii.  61,  62.  When  his  Lord  afterwards 
questioned  him  respecting  his  love,  he  could  appeal  to  him 
as  the  searcher  of  hearts,  that  he  did  love  him  in  sincerity; 
and  Christ  having  renewed  his  commission,  he  laboured 
zealously  and  faithfully  in  his  Master's  service.  The  fact, 
then,  that  time  saints  may  fall  into  grievous  sins,  is  by  no 
means  incompatible  with  their  final  perseverance.  The 
Lord  promises  to  "  heal  their  backslidings"  (Hos.  xiv.  4) ; 
and  while  this  promise  implies  that  they  may  fall  partially, 
it  secures  that  they  shall  not  fall  totally  and  finally. 

IV.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  secures  the  preservation 
of  the  principle  of  grace  in  their  souls,  though  it  may  greatly  decay 
as  to  its  exercise.  In  regard  to  the  acting  or  exercise  of  grace, 
the  believer  may  sometimes  be  in  a  very  languishing  condi- 
tion ;  but  the  principle  of  grace  shall  never  be  entirely  eradi- 
cated. He  may  appear  like  a  tree  almost  killed  by  a  long 
and  severe  winter.  He  may  seem  to  be  without  fruit,  with- 
out verdure;  yea,  even  without  life.  But,  under  all  the 
witherings  of  the  believer,  "his  seed  remaineth  in  him;" 
otherwise  the  promise  would  fail  in  which  it  is  engaged, 
that  "  the  root  of  the  righteous  shall  not  be  moved." — Prov. 
xii.  3.  We  see  this  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Peter.  Christ 
said  to  him :  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail 
not." — Luke  xxii.  32.  We  cannot  doubt  that  Peter's  faith, 
as  to  its  exercise,  did  fail,  and  that  in  a  most  lamentable  man- 
ner. But  to  suppose  that  his  faith  failed  as  to  its  principle 
or  habit,  would  be  altogether  inconsistent  with  the  success  of 
Christ's  prayer,  which  we  are  sure  is  always  prevalent.     As 


SECT.  1-3.]   OF  THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS.     ]?7 

a  tree  in  winter  has  still  life  in  the  root,  though  its  branches 
wither,  and  it  appears  to  be  dead;  so  the  believer,  in  his  most 
decayed  and  languishing  condition,  has  still  a  vital  principle 
of  grace  within.  And  as  the  tree  revives  and  nourishes  as 
soon  as  the  spring  returns,  so  the  believer's  graces  revive, 
and  act  with  renewed  vigour  when  "  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness" returns  with  his  refreshing  influences.  The  exercise 
of  grace  may  be  interrupted,  but  the  principle  of  grace,  once 
implanted,  shall  never  be  entirely  extirpated.  The  believer 
may  fall  into  a  very  languid  condition,  but  he  shall  never  fall 
away  from  a  state  of  grace.  He  shall  be  enabled  to  persevere 
until  grace  shall  be  consummated  in  glory. 

Having  explained  the  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints,  as  it  is  exhibited  in  our  Confession,  the  arguments 
by  which  it  is  supported  may  now  be  stated.  These  are 
arranged,  in  the  second  section,  in  the  following  order  : — 

1.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  secured  by  the  immuto> 
bility  oftlie  decree  of  election.  That  a  certain  definite  number 
of  mankind  sinners  were,  in  sovereign  mercy,  chosen  of  God, 
and  appointed  unto  glory,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  is  a  truth  attested  by  many  express  declarations  of 

Scripture Eph.  i.  4;  2  Thess.  ii.  13;  Acts  xiii.  48.     This 

purpose  of  God  finally  to  bestow  salvation  or  eternal  life 
upon  his  chosen,  necessarily  includes  a  determination  to  do 
all  that  is  requisite  to  make  them  meet  for  the  enjoyment  of 
it,  and  to  preserve  them  amidst  all  snares  and  temptations 
to  the  full  possession  of  it.  Now,  if  one  included  in  the 
election  of  grace  should  finally  perish,  the  purpose  of  God 
would,  in  that  instance,  be  frustrated,  and  in  every  instance 
in  which  such  an  event  should  take  place.  But  his  purpose, 
originating  from  himself,  and  being  altogether  independent 
of  his  creatures,  must  be  unchangeable  as  his  nature.  Hence 
he  proclaims,  with  divine  majesty:  "I  am  the  Lord;  I  change 
not."  "  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  plea- 
sure." Our  Saviour  himself,  from  the  election  of  believers, 
infers  the  impossibility  of  their  being  seduced  into  a  perish- 
ing condition.  "  There  shall  arise  false  Christs,  and  false 
prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders,  insomuch 
that  (if  it  were  possible)  thej'  shall  deceive  the  very  elect." 
— Matt.  xxiv.  24.  It  is  evident  that,  in  this  passage,  our 
Lord  treats  of  the  elect  after  being  brought  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  and  that  he  speaks  not  of  any  seduction 
whatsoever,  but  that  which  is  total  and  final.  Now,  the 
words,  "  If  it  were  possible,"  imply  a  real  impossibility  of 
their  being  so  seduced. 

2.  It  is  secured  by  the  merit  of  Christ's  silverings  and  death. 

M 


178  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

Christ  "  purchased  the  Church  with  his  own  blood."  The 
"  iniquities  "  of  all  his  people  "  were  laid  upon  him,"  and,  as 
their  Surety,  "  he  bore  their  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree."  He  sustained  the  full  infliction  of  the  curse  which 
they  deserved,  and  "  obtained  for  them  eternal  redemption." 
"  Now,  as  a  surety  stands  in  the  room  of  the  person  whom 
he  represents,  the  latter  reaps  all  the  benefit  of  what  the 
surety  has  done  in  his  name ;  so  that,  if  his  debt  has  been 
paid  by  the  surety,  the  creditor  cannot  demand  the  payment 
of  it  from  him.  Let  us  apply  this  illustration  to  the  subject 
before  us.  If  Christ  made  satisfaction  on  the  cross  for  the 
sins  of  his  people — not  for  some  of  them  only,  but  for  them 
all,  as  we  are  expressly  assured — it  would  be  contrary  to  jus- 
tice to  subject  them  also  to  the  punishment.  But,  if  the 
saints  may  fall  from  a  state  of  grace,  and  perish  in  their  sins, 
satisfaction  will  be  twice  exacted — first,  from  the  surety;  and 
secondly,  from  them.  Either  Christ  did,  or  did  not,  make  an 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  his  people.  If  he  did  not  make  an 
atonement  for  them,  they  must  satisfy  for  themselves ;  if  he 
did  answer  the  demands  of  justice  in  their  room,  it  is  impos- 
sible that,  under  the  righteous  administration  of  Heaven, 
they  should,  by  any  cause,  or  for  any  reason,  come  into  con- 
demnation. Accordingly,  the  new  covenant  promises  to  be- 
lievers complete  and  irrevocable  pardon.  I  will  '  be  merci- 
ful to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities 
will  I  remember  no  more.' — Heb.  viii.  12.  But  if  the  doc- 
trine of  the  defectibility  of  the  saints  is  true,  the  promise  is 
false;  for  their  sins  may  be  remembered  again.  Nay,  if  this 
doctrine  is  true,  Christ  might  have  died  in  vain;  for,  as  one 
saint  may  fall  from  a  state  of  grace  as  well  as  another,  it 
might  happen  that  not  a  single  sinner  should  be  actually  re- 
deemed by  his  blood  from  everlasting  destruction."  * 

3.  It  is  secured  by  the  perpetuity  and  prevalence  of  Christ's  in- 
tercession. As  Christ  purchased  his  people  by  the  merit  of 
his  own  blood,  so  "he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession" 
for  them.  And  what  is  the  matter  of  his  intercession  on 
their  behalf  ?  He  prays  for  every  one  of  them,  as  he  did  for 
Peter,  "  that  their  faith  fail  not."  In  those  petitions  winch 
he  offered  up  for  his  followers,  while  he  was  yet  on  earth, 
we  have  a  specimen  of  his  pleadings  before  the  throne.  Now, 
he  prayed  once  and  again  for  their  preservation  :  "  Holy 
Father,  keep  through  thine  own  name  those  whom  thou  hast 
given  me;"  "I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of 
the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil." 
— John  xvii.  11,  15.  Lest  any  should  confine  these  petitions 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iii.,  p.  521. 


SECT.  1-3.]    OF  THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS.     179 

to  his  immediate  disciples,  or  to  such  as  already  believed  on 
him,  he  adds  (verse  20) :  "Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but 
for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word." 
If,  then,  there  is  any  efficacy  in  the  intercession  of  Christ, 
the  perseverance  of  all  who  believe  on  him  is  infallibly  se- 
cured. But  his  intercession,  being  founded  on  his  satisfac- 
tory death  and  meritorious  righteousness,  must  be  prevalent 
and  effectual  to  obtain  for  his  people  all  that  he  asks  on  their 
behalf.     Him  the  Father  always  heareth. — John  xi.  42. 

4.  It  is  secured  by  the  constant  inhabitation  of  the  Spirit.  When 
our  Lord  was  about  to  depart  out  of  this  world,  he  consoled 
the  hearts  of  his  disciples  by  the  promise  of  the  Spirit.  "  I 
will  pray  the  Father,"  said  he,  "  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever." — John  xiv. 
16.  That  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
apostles,  but  is  the  happy  privilege  of  every  real  Christian, 
is  evident  from  the  inspired  declaration  :  "  If  any  man  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." — Rom.  viii.  9. 
Now,  the  Spirit  does  not  enter  into  the  hearts  of  believers 
as  a  transient  visitant,  but  "  to  make  his  abode  with  them." 
Hence  they  are  called  "  the  temple  of  God,  because  the 
Spirit  of  God  dieelleth  in  them."  And  the  constant  residence 
of  the  Spirit  in  believers  effectually  secures  their  perseve- 
rance; for  his  gracious  purpose  in  taking  up  his  residence  in 
them  is,  to  make  them  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 
in  light,  to  guard  them  through  life,  and  conduct  them  to 
glory.  By  him  they  are  sealed  to  the  day  of  redemption,  and 
he  is  the  earnest  of  their  future  inheritance. — 2  Cor.  i.  22; 
Eph.  i.  13,  14.  An  earnest  is  a  part  given  as  a  security  for 
the  future  possession  of  the  whole ;  and  as  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
to  believers  the  earnest  of  the  heavenly  inheritance,  this 
must  imply  the  utmost  certainty  of  their  future  bliss.  If  any 
who  have  received  the  Spirit  were  left  to  fall  totally  and 
finally  from  a  state  of  grace,  and  to  come  short  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance,  then,  shocking  thought !  the  Spirit  of 
truth  would  be  a  precarious  and  fallacious  earnest. 

5.  It  is  secured  by  the  unchangeable  nature  of  the  covenant  of 
grace.  This  covenant,  being  founded  in  the  grace  of  God, 
and  not  in  our  obedience,  is  "  ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure." 
The  tenor  of  this  covenant  is  clearly  expressed :  "  I  will 
make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them,  that  I  will  not  turn 
away  from  them,  to  do  them  good;  but  I  will  put  my  fear 
in  their  hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  me." — Jer. 
xxxii.  40.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  here  is  not  only  a 
promise  of  the  constant  affection  of  God  towards  his  people, 
so  that  he  will  never  turn  away  from  them  to  do  them  good, 


180  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  J_CHAP.  XVII. 

but  also  a  promise  that  he  will  put  his  fear  in  their  hearts,  so 
that  they  shall  not  depart  from  him.  God  not  only  promises 
that  he  will  continue  to  be  gracious  to  them,  if  they  continue 
to  fear  him,  but  he  also  pledges  himself  to  put  his  fear  in  their 
hearts,  or  to  grant  to  them  such  communications  of  his  grace 
as  shall  preserve  them  from  falling  away.  The  certainty  of 
the  saints'  perseverance  could  not  possibly  be  expressed  in 
stronger  terms. 

In  addition  to  these  arguments,  which  are  specified  in  the 
Confession,  we  may  state  that  the  perseverance  of  the  saints 
is  also  evident — 1.  From  manifold  divine  promises. — Isa.  liv. 
10;  John  x.  27-30;  Heb.  xiii.  5.  2.  From  the  various 
divine  perfections.  3.  From  the  connection  between  the 
effectual  calling  and  the  glorification  of  believers. — Rom. 
viii.  30.  4.  From  the  character  of  perfection  that  belongs 
to  all  the  works  of  God. — Phil.  i.  6.  5.  From  the  intimate  and 
indissoluble  union  that  subsists  between  Christ  and  believers. 
—John  xv.  5;  1  Cor.  xii.  12;  John  xiv.  19,  20.* 

The  doctrine  of  the  saints'  perseverance  has  been  some- 
times represented  as  unfriendly  to  the  interests  of  holiness. 
But  how  it  can  have  this  effect,  it  is  not  easy  to  perceive. 
Although  believers  "shall  certainly  persevere  in  grace  to 
the  end,  and  be  eternally  saved;"  yet,  if  they  fall  into  grie- 
vous sins,  they  thereby  "  incur  God's  displeasure,  and  grieve 
his  Holy  Spirit — come  to  be  deprived  of  some  measure  of 
their  graces  and  comforts — have  their  hearts  hardened,  and 
their  consciences  wounded — hurt  and  scandalize  others,  and 
bring  temporal  judgments  upon  themselves."  If,  then,  the 
saints  feel  any  concern  about  the  glory  of  their  heavenly 
Father,  the  edification  of  others,  and  their  own  comfort,  they 
have  the  strongest  motives  to  "abstain  from  all  appearance 
of  evil,"  and  to  endeavour  to  be  found  "  walking  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless." 
Besides,  the  perseverance  for  which  we  plead  is  a  perse- 
verance in  holiness  to  the  end;  and  how  can  this  doctrine  have 
any  tendency  to  make  men  careless  about  the  commission  of 
sin  ?  Add  to  this,  that  the  more  firmly  the  believer  is 
persuaded  that  nothing  shall  be  able  to  separate  him  from 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  more  he  feels  the  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  his  heart,  the  more  powerfully  will  he  be  constrained 
to  live  so  as  to  promote  the  glory  of  God. — 2  Cor.  v.  14,  15. 

The  certainty  of  the  saints'  perseverance  affords  no  en- 

*  This  subject  is  treated  by  all  systematic  writers.  It  is  also  fully  discussed 
in  the  following  works  :— Lime  Street  Lectures,  Ser.  9 ;  Berry  Street  Ser- 
mons, Ser.  24 ;  Elisha  Coles  On  God's  Sovereignty ;  Sam.  Wilson's  Sermons, 
Ser.  11-15;  and  President  Edwards'  Remarks  on  Important  Theological 
Controversies,  chap.  v. 


SECT.  1,  2.]    ASSURANCE  OP  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.     181 

couragement  to  any  to  neglect  the  means  which  God  has 
appointed  for  their  preservation.  "  Watch  and  pray,"  said 
our  Saviour,  "  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation."  "  Be- 
ware lest  ye  fall  from  your  own  stedfastness,"  said  his 
apostle.  "  Look  to  yourselves,  that  ye  lose  not  those  things 
which  ye  have  wrought."  The  Scriptures  abound  with  such 
exhortations  and  admonitions ;  and  they  are  greatly  mistaken 
who  infer,  from  them,  that  the  saints  may  fall  totally  and 
finally  away  from  grace.  God  deals  with  his  people  as  ra- 
tional creatures,  and  these  exhortations  and  admonitions  are 
the  very  means  which  he  employs,  and  which  he  renders 
effectual,  for  preventing  their  apostasy,  and  for  promoting 
their  final  perseverance.  God  works  in  believers,  both  to 
will  and  to  do ;  but  he  requires  them  to  do  their  part  while 
he  is  doing  his.  Let  every  Christian,  therefore,  be  "  sted- 
fast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
forasmuch  as  he  knows  that  his  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

OP  ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION. 

Section  I — Although  hypocrites,  and  other  un- 
regenerate  men,  may  vainly  deceive  themselves  with 
false  hopes  and  carnal  presumptions  of  being  in  the 
favour  of  God  and  estate  of  salvation ; 1  which  hope  of 
theirs  shall  perish  ; 2  yet  such  as  truly  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  love  him  in  sincerity,  endeavouring  to  walk 
in  all  good  conscience  before  him,  may  in  this  life  be 
certainly  assured  that  they  are  in  the  state  of  grace,3  and 
may  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God;  which 
hope  shall  never  make  them  ashamed.4 

Section  II. — This  certainty  is  not  a  bare  conjectural 
and  probable  persuasion,  grounded  upon  a  fallible  hope ; 5 
but  an  infallible  assurance  of  faith,  founded  upon  the 

1  Job    viii.    13,    14.      Micah    iii.    11. 1  3  Uohn  ii.3;  iii.  14,18, 19,  21,24;  v.  13. 

Dcut.  xxix.  19.    John  viii.  41.       *  Rom.  v.  2,  5. 

2  Matt.  vii.  22,  23.  |  s  Heb.  vi.  11,  19. 


*'" 


182  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

divine  truth  of  the  promises  of  salvation,6  the  inward 
evidence  of  those  graces  unto  which  these  promises  are 
made,7  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  adoption  witnessing 
with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God : 8 
which  Spirit  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  whereby 
we  are  sealed  to  the  day  of  redemption.9 

•  Heb.  vi.  17,  18.  I  8  Rom.  viii.  15.  16. 

»  2  Pet.  i.  4,  5,  10,  11.      1  John  ii  3';     9  Eph.  i.   13,   14;    iv.  30.    2  Cor.  i. 
iii.  14.    2  Cor.  i.  12.  21,  22. 

EXPOSITION. 

By  the  "  assurance  of  grace  and  salvation,"  treated  of  in 
this  chapter,  is  meant  the  believer's  assurance  that  he  is 
"  in  the  state  of  grace,"  and  has  a  personal  interest  in  the 
salvation  of  Christ.  The  statements  on  this  subject  are 
directed  against  certain  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
of  the  Arminians.  The  Church  of  Rome  deny  that  it  is 
possible  for  any  man  in  this  life  to  attain  more  than  a  con- 
jectural and  probable  persuasion  of  salvation,  except  by 
extraordinary  revelation  ;  and  they  build  some  of  the  most 
gainful  parts  of  their  traffic  upon  that  perpetual  doubt  and 
uncertainty,  with  respect  to  their  final  salvation,  in  which 
they  keep  their  votaries,  and  which  they  profess  in  some  de- 
gree to  remove  by  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  the  merits  of 
saints  and  martyrs,  and  the  absolution  which  the  priests  pro- 
^  nounce  in  the  name  of  God.  The  Arminians,  in  consistency 
with  their  denial  of  the  certainty  of  the  saints'  final  perse- 
verance, hold  that  it  is  not  possible  for  any  man  to  attain  a 
greater  certainty  of  salvation  than  this,  that,  if  he  shall 
persevere  in  the  faith  to  the  end,  he  shall  be  saved. 

1.  In  opposition  to  these  errors,  our  Confession  teaches, 
that  the  saints,  without  any  special  or  immediate  revelation, 
in  the  due  use  of  ordinary  means,  may  attain,  not  merely  a 
conjectural  or  probable  persuasion,  but  a  certain  assurance 
of  their  being  in  a  state  of  grace,  and  of  their  final  salva- 
tion. This  is  confirmed  by  such  considerations  as  the  fol- 
lowing : — 1.  In  the  Scriptures,  Christians  are  enjoined  to 
examine  themselves,  and  give  all  diligence  to  attain  this 
assurance.  The  Apostle  Paul  exhorts  the  Corinthians  to 
"  examine  themselves  whether  they  be  in  the  faith,"  and 
speaks  of  it  as  an  argument  of  something  very  blameable  in 
them,  not  to  know  whether  Jesus  Christ  be  in  them  or  not. 
— 2.  Cor.  xiii.  5.  The  Apostle  Peter  directs  all  Christians 
to  "give  all  diligence  to  make  their  calling  and  election 
sure,"  not  to  others,  but  to  themselves ;  and  informs  them 


SECT.  1,  2.]     ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.    183 

how  they  may  do  this. — 2  Pet.  i.  5-11.  The  exhortation  is 
addressed  to  them  that  have  "  obtained  precious  faith  through 
the  righteousness  of  God,  even  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;" 
they  are  directed  to  "add  to  their  faith,  virtue;  and  to 
virtue,  knowledge,"  &c.  ;  and  they  are  informed,  that  by  so 
doing,  they  would  attain  a  certain  assurance  of  their  calling 
and  election,  and  have  a  certain  admission  into  the  everlast- 
ing kingdom  of  God  in  heaven.  This  direction  is  of  the 
same  nature  with  the  exhortation  of  the  Apostle  Paul  to 
the  Hebrews  (vi.  11)  :  "We  desire  that  every  one  of  you 
do  show  the  same  diligence,  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope 
unto  the  end."  These  exhortations  make  it  manifest,  that 
Christians  have  the  means,  without  any  special  revelation,  of 
assuring  themselves  of  their  present  piety  and  future  safety.  -r 
2.  The  Scriptures  exhibit  many  marks  or  characters  of 
genuine  believers,  by  which  they  may  be  certainly  assured 
that  they  have  believed  to  the  saving  of  their  souls.  "  Here- 
by we  do  know  that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep  his  com- 
mandments." "  Whoso  keepeth  his  word,  in  him  verily  is 
the  love  of  God  perfected;  hereby  know  we  that  we  are 
in  him." — 1  John  ii.  3,  5.  "We  know  that  we  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren."  "  Here- 
by we  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth,  and  shall  assure  our 
hearts  before  him." — 1  John  iii.  14,  19.  The  scope  of  the 
whole  of  that  Epistle  is,  to  propose  such  sure  marks  to  be- 
lievers, by  which  they  may  "  know  that  they  have  eternal 
life." — 1  John  v.  13.  3.  We  have  many  examples  of  the 
attainment  of  this  assurance,  in  the  history  of  the  personal 
experience  of  the  saints.  The  saints  described  in  Scripture 
were  in  the  habit  of  expressing  their  assurance  of  salvation. 
"  As  for  me,"  said  David, "  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteous- 
ness ;  I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness." 
— Ps.  xvii.  15.  "  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me 
all  the  days  of  my  life  :  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  for  ever." — Ps.  xxiii.  6.  "  Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  thy 
counsel,  and  afterward  receive  me  to  glory." — Ps.  lxxiii.  24. 
Job,  too,  in  the  midst  of  his  accumulated  afflictions,  spake  the 
language  of  assurance  :  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth," 
&c. — Job  xix.  25.  The  experience  of  New  Testament 
believers  is  still  more  plainly  expressed.  The  Apostle  Paul 
may  serve  as  an  example.  These  are  his  triumphant  asser- 
tions in  behalf  of  all  the  saints  :  "  We  are  more  than  con- 
querors through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded, 
that  neither  death  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 


184  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
— Rom.  viii.  37-39;  see  also,  2  Cor.  v.  i.  Upon  another 
occasion  he  declares  his  assurance  that  he  had  believed  in 
Christ,  and  his  full  persuasion  of  his  future  felicity  :  "  I 
know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  he  is 
able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him  against 
that  day." — 2  Tim.  i.  12.  So  confident  was  he  that,  when 
u  absent  from  the  body,"  he  should  be  "present  with  the  Lord," 
that  he  expresses  his  willingness,  nay,  his  ardent  desire,  in 
consequence  of  his  assurance,  to  be  released  from  the  body, 
that  he  might  immediately  enter  upon  the  heavenly  enjoy- 
ment :  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have 
finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there 
is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day." — 2  Tim.  iv. 
6-8 ;  see  also  2  Cor.  v.  8 ;  Phil.  i.  23.  These  examples 
must  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  general  principle,  that  an 
assurance  of  salvation  is  in  this  life  attainable  by  believers. 

2.  This  assurance  is  "  founded  upon  the  divine  truth  of  the 
promises  of  salvation,  the  inward  evidence  of  those  graces 
unto  which  these  promises  are  made,  and  the  testimony  of 
the  Spirit  of  adoption  witnessing  with  our  spirits  that  we  are 
the  children  of  God."  It  is  not  founded  upon  any  of  these 
things  singly,  but  upon  all  of  them  combined.  The  promises 
of  salvation  in  the  Word  furnish  us  with  the  distinguishing 
characters  of  true  Christians,  and  infallibly  assure  us,  that  all 
in  whom  these  characters  are  found  shall  be  saved.  The 
inward  evidences  of  grace  assure  us  that  we  possess  these 
characters  ;  and  we  are  then  warranted  to  draw  the  conclu- 
sion, that  we  are  now  in  a  gracious  state,  and  "  shall  be 
saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation."  "  Assurance  is  ge- 
nerally attained  by  a  sort  of  sacred  syllogism,  or  reasoning 
in  this  manner : — Whosoever  belfeveth  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  in  a  state  of  grace,  and  shall  be  saved. — Acts  xvi. 
31;  Rom.  ix.  33.  But  I  believe  in  him;  therefore,  I  am 
in  a  state  of  grace,  and  shall  be  saved.  So  long  as  we  be- 
lieve the  Scriptures  of  truth,  the  first  of  these  propositions 
cannot  be  called  in  question.  All  the  difficulty  respects  the 
second,  viz.,  Whether  we  truly  believe  in  Christ.  For  it 
cannot  be  denied,  that  a  man  may  think  himself  to  be  some- 
thing when  he  is  nothing,  and  so  deceive  himself. — Gal.  vi. 
3.  As  little  can  it,  that  the  mental  eyes  may  be  holden,  as 
sometimes  the  bodily  have  (Luke  xxiv.  16)  ;  and  in  such  a 
case,  even  he  that  feareth  the  Lord  must  walk  in  dai'kness 
(Isa.  i.  10)  ;  not  knowing  that  he  is  in  Christ,  though  he  cer- 


SECT.  1,2.]     ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.    185 

tainly  is.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  man  is  conscious  of 
certain  acts,  as  of  faith,  repentance,  love  to  God  and  all  his 
saints.  In  order  to  reach  the  heights  of  holy  assurance,  he 
must  he  satisfied  as  to  the  specific  nature  of  these  acts,  that 
they  are  unfeigned,  and  not  hypocritical.  But  how  he  can 
attain  to  this,  without  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
inconceivable.  He  who  gave  him  faith  and  repentance, 
must  also  make  him  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given 
him  of  God. — 1  Cor.  ii.  12.  As  the  sun  cannot  be  seen  but 
by  Ins  own  light,  neither  can  we  know,  but  by  the  Spirit, 
that  we  have  the  Spirit."  * 

Some  have  taught,  that  every  man  who  believes  in  Christ 
must  be  immediately  conscious  that  he  does  so  ;  and  that 
this  consciousness  is  the  first  evidence  which  a  man  has  that 
he  is  in  a  justified  state.  Our  Confession  is  altogether  silent 
concerning  this  evidence ;  or  rather,  it  plainly  indicates,  that 
this  consciousness  is  by  no  means  an  inseparable  concomitant 
of  true  faith.  This  consciousness  is  the  same  thing  that  many 
theological  writers  have  termed  "the  reflex  act  of  faith." 
By  this  they  meant  a  consciousness  of  the  direct  act  of  faith, 
or  a  knowledge  that  one  has  believed,  arising  from  reflection. 
Now,  by  declaring  that  the  "  assurance  of  grace  and  salva- 
tion" is  not  essential  to  faith,  our  Confession  teaches  that  a 
person  may  believe  in  Christ,  and  may  be  justified  by  his 
faith,  before  he  attain  the  assurance  that  he  is  in  a  justified 
state  ;  or,  in  other  words,  he  may  believe  in  Christ,  and  not 
be  immediately  conscious  that  he  has  truly  believed  to  the. 
saving  of  his  soul.  Faith  admits  of  different  degrees,  and 
the  evidence  of  it  will  be  proportioned  to  its  strength.  "When 
large  communications  of  the  Spirit  are  given,  by  means  of 
which  faith  becomes  very  strong,  then  it  may  carry  along 
with  it  the  most  convincing  evidence  of  its  truth.  Doubtless 
the  faith  of  many  of  the  saints  recorded  in  Scripture,  as  of 
Abraham,  the  centurion,  and  the  woman  of  Canaan,  was 
such  as  left  no  room  to  doubt  of  it.  But  this  will  not  war- 
rant us  to  assert,  that  every  believer  must  be  instantly  con- 
scious of  his  believing  in  Christ,  and  that  his  faith  is  unfeigned. 
a  If  faith  consisted  merely  in  an  assent  of  the  understanding 
to  the  truth  of  a  proposition,  on  perceiving  the  evidence  on 
which  it  rests,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  person  being 
conscious  or  certain  of  it ;  but  if  the  heart  be  in  any  sense 
the  proper  seat  of  saving  faith,  more  uncertainty  will  attend 
the  evidence  arising  from  consciousness.  If  no  opposite  dis- 
positions to  God  and  to  the  way  of  salvation  by  grace  existed 
in  the  soul,  the  matter  would  be  very  easy  ;  but  that  is  not 
*  Bell's  Notes  to  Witsius'  Irenical  Animadversions,  pp.  305,  306. 


186  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

the  case.  The  heart,  in  regeneration,  is  not  altogether  de- 
livered from  the  deceit  occasioned  by  sin  ;  so  that  it  con- 
stantly attempts  to  deceive  and  mislead  the  soul.  There  is 
not  one  gracious  spiritual  disposition  or  exercise  of  the  heart 
but  may  be,  in  some  degree,  counterfeited  by  the  mere  work- 
ing of  natural  principles;  and  the  remaining  deceit  of  the 
heart  may  so  operate  as  to  render  it  very  difficult  for  the  be- 
liever to  discriminate  the  one  from  the  other.  Many  morally 
serious  persons  are  deceived  in  this  way,  mistaking  those 
*  affections  which  they  sometimes  feel,  and  which  are  excited 
by  various  causes,  for  the  work  of  grace.  It  must,  indeed,  be 
past  a  doubt,  that  the  saving  operations  of  the  Spirit  must 
produce  very  different  effects  on  the  soul  from  any  other 
cause  whatever ;  and,  therefore,  his  work  may  certainly  be 
discriminated  from  every  other.  Still,  however,  considerable 
difficulty  will  remain  where  faith  is  weak.  Nor  can  it  be 
otherwise,  while  there  is  in  the  believer's  members  a  law 
warring  against  the  law  in  his  mind  ;  and  while  the  flesh 
lusts  against  the  Spirit,  preventing  him  from  doing  the 
things  that  he  would.  Nor  is  the  inference  fairly  drawn 
from  the  case  of  the  primitive  Christians,  who  seemed  to  have 
no  hesitation  about  the  truth  of  their  faith,  and  declared 
readily  that  they  believed.  Much  larger  measures  of  grace 
seem  then  to  have  been  given,  and  given  to  all,  than  are 
given  in  general,  and  since  that  time."  * 

There  can  be  no  question  in  regard  to  the  reality  of  the  wit- 
nessing of  the  Spirit ;  for  an  inspired  apostle  expressly  declares: 
"  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we 
are  the  children  of  God." — Rom.  viii.  16.  There  are  different 
opinions,  however,  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Spirit 
gives  this  testimony.  Some  have  thought  that  the  Spirit  wit- 
nesses the  believer's  adoption  by  inward  revelation,  or  by  way  of 
\  I  immediate  suggestion.  "  The  Spirit,"  says  one,  "  by  himself, 
witnesses  in  a  distinct  way  from  that  which  is  by  water  and 
blood,  by  shedding  abroad  the  love  of  God  upon  the  heart 
in  a  soul-ravishing  way."  "This  is  evident,"  it  is  added, 
"  from  the  experience  of  the  saints.  Many  of  them  have 
been  brought  to  assurance  in  this  immediate  way;  and  not 
merely  by  reflection  upon  marks,  and  signs,  and  qualifications 
within,  which  is  the  Spirit's  witnessing  by  water  or  sanctifica- 
tion."f  The  greater  part  of  divines,  however,  concur  in  the 
opinion,  that  the  Spirit  witnesses  by  means  of  his  operations, 
or  by  the  effects  produced  by  him  in  the  hearts  of  believers. 
They  reject  the  idea  of  an  immediate  testimony,  and  hold  that 

*  Thomson's  (of  Quarrel  wood)  Sermons,  vol.  ii.,  p.  540. 
+  R.  Erskine's  Sermons,  Ser.  143,  vol.  ix.,  pp.  199,  200. 


SECT.  1,  2.]    ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.     187 

1  the  work  of  the  Spirit  is  the  testimony  which  he  gives,  assuring 
believers  of  their  adoption  and  consequent  safety.  President  I 
Edwards  speaks  very  decidedly  and  strongly  against  the  /  ^ 
opinion,  that  the  Spirit  witnesses  by  way  of  immediate  sug-  ^~ 
gestion  or  revelation,  and  declares  that  many  mischiefs  have 
arisen  from  this  false  and  delusive  notion.  "  "What  has  mis- 
led many,"  says  he,  "  in  their  notion  of  that  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  we  are  speaking  of,  is  the  word  witness,  its 
being  called  the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  Hence  they  have  taken 
it,  not  to  be  any  effect  or  work  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  heart, 
giving  evidence  from  whence  men  may  argue  that  they  are 
the  children  of  God;  but  an  inward  immediate  suggestion, 
as  though  God  inwardly  spoke  to  the  man,  and  testified  to 
him,  and  told  him  that  he  was  his  child,  by  a  kind  of  secret 
voice,  or  impression  :  not  observing  the  manner  in  which 
the  word  witness  or  testimony,  is  often  used  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment; where  such  terms  often  signify,  not  only  a  mere  de- 
claring and  asserting  a  thing  to  be  true,  but  holding  forth 
evidence  from  whence  a  thing  may  be  argued  and  proved  to 
be  true.  Thus  (Heb.  ii.  4),  God  is  said  to  bear  witness,  with 
signs  and  wonders,  and  divers  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Now  these  miracles,  here  spoken  of,  are  called  God's 
witness,  not  because  they  are  of  the  nature  of  assertions,  but 
evidences  and  proofs.  So  also  Actsxiv.  3;  John  v.  36,  x.  25. 
So  the  water  and  the  blood  are  said  to  bear  witness  (1  John 
v.  8),  not  that  they  spake  or  asserted  anything,  but  they  were 
proofs  and  evidences."  "  Indeed  the  apostle,  when  in  that 
(Rom.  viii.  16),  he  speaks  of  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with 
our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God,  does  sufficiently 
explain  himself,  if  his  words  were  but  attended  to.  What  is 
here  expressed  is  connected  with  the  two  preceding  verses, 
as  resulting  from  what  the  apostle  had  there  said,  as  every 
reader  may  see.  The  three  verses  together  are  thus :  '  For 
as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons 
of  God;  for  ye  have  not  received  the  Spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear;  but  ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby 
we  cry,  Abba,  Father  :  the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with 
our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God.'  Here  what 
the  apostle  says,  if  we  take  it  together,  plainly  shows  that  ' 
what  he  has  respect  to,  when  he  speaks  of  the  Spirit's  giving 
us  witness  or  evidence  that  we  are  God's  children,  is  his 
dwelling  in  us,  and  leading  us,  as  a  spirit  of  adoption,  or 
spirit  of  a  child,  disposing  us  to  behave  towards  God  as  to  a 
Father."*  More  recent  authors  take  the  same  view  of  this 
•  Edwards'  Treatise  concerning  Religious  Affections,  pp.  131,  137.  See 
also  Flavel's  4th  Sac.  Med.,  vol.  ii„  p.  455,  456  ;-M'Leod's  (New  York)  Life 
and  Power  of  True  Godliness,  p.  2C4. 


188  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  ^CHAP.  XVIII. 

subject,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  find  such  harmony  among 
the  most  eminent  theological  writers  upon  a  point  so  inte- 
resting. "  The  Spirit  bears  testimony  to  the  sonship  of  be- 
lievers," says  Dr  Dick,  "when  he  brings  to  light,  by  his 
operations  upon  their  souls,  the  evidences  of  their  adoption; 
and  thus  makes  their  relation  to  God  as  manifest  as  if  he 
assured  them  of  it  with  an  audible  voice."*  "  There  is  one 
very  obvious  way,"  says  Dr  Chalmers,  "  in  which  the  Spirit 
may  bear  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of 
God;  or  in  which,  according  to  the  translation  of  many,  the 
Spirit  may  bear  witness  to,  or  attest  to  our  spirit  that  we  are 
God's  children.  It  is  he  who  worketh  a  work  of  grace  in 
our  souls,  and  that  work  may  become  manifest  to  our  own 
consciences.  We  may  read  the  lineaments  of  our  own  reno- 
vated character,  and  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  exercise  of 
our  own  spirit,  that  by  which  we  become  acquainted  with  the 
new  features  or  the  new  characteristics  that  have  been  formed 
upon  ourselves.  And  we  may,  furthermore,  read  in  the  Bible, 
what  be  the  Scripture  marks  of  the  new  creature ;  and  as  all 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  this  is  one  way  in 
which  a  joint  testimony  may  be  made  out  between  God's 
Spirit  and  our  spirit  upon  the  subject;  or  in  which  a  com- 
munication may  be  made  to  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other, 
so  that  they  both  shall  concur  in  one  and  the  same  sentence 
— that  we  are  indeed  God's  children.  The  part  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  hath  had  in  this  matter  is,  that  he  both  graves 
upon  us  the  lineaments  of  a  living  epistle  of  Christ  Jesus, 
and  tells  us  in  the  epistle  of  a  written  revelation  what  these 
lineaments  are.  The  part  which  our  own  spirit  has  is,  that, 
with  the  eye  of  consciousness,  we  read  what  is  in  ourselves; 
and,  with  the  eye  of  the  understanding,  we  read  what  is  in 
the  Book  of  God's  testimony.  And  upon  our  perceiving  that 
such  as  the  marks  of  grace  which  we  find  to  be  within,  so 
are  the  marks  of  grace  which  we  observe  in  the  description 
of  that  Word  without  that  the  Spirit  hath  indited,  we  arrive 
at  the  conclusion,  that  we  are  born  of  God.  But  what  is  more, 
it  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit  to  make  one  see  more  clearly  in 
both  of  these  directions,  to  open  one's  eyes  both  that  he  might 
behold  the  things  contained  in  the  Bible  with  brighter  mani- 
festation, and,  also  that  he  might  behold  the  things  which  lie 
deeply,  and  to  most,  un discoverably,  hidden  in  the  arcana  of 
their  own  hearts." 

a  I  could  not,  without  making  my  own  doctrine  outstrip  my 
own  experience,  vouch  for  any  other  intimation  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  than  that  which  he  gives  in  the  act  of  making  the 
*  Dick's  Theological  Lectures,  vol.  iii.,  p.  415. 


SECT.  3,  4.]    ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.     189 

Word  of  God  clear  unto  you,  and  the  state  of  your  own  heart 
clear  unto  you.  From  the  one  you  draw  what  are  its  pro-  • 
raises — from  the  other,  what  are  your  own  personal  charac-' 
teristics  ;  and  the  application  of  the  first  to  the  second  may 
conduct  to  a  most  legitimate  argument,  that  you  personally 
are  one  of  the  saved — and  that  not  a  tardy  or  elaborate 
argument  either,  but  with  an  evidence  quick  and  powerful  as 
the  light  of  intuition."  * 

Section  III. — This  infallible  assurance  doth  not  so 
belong  to  the  essence  of  faith,  but  that  a  true  believer 
may  wait  long,  and  conflict  with  many  difficulties,  before 
he  be  partaker  of  it : 10  yet,  being  enabled  by  the  Spirit 
to  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given  him  of  God, 
he  may,  without  extraordinary  revelation,  in  the  right 
use  of  ordinary  means,  attain  thereunto.11  And,  there- 
fore, it  is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  give  all  diligence  to 
make  his  calling  and  election  sure ; 12  that  thereby  his 
heart  may  be  enlarged  in  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  love  and  thankfulness  to  God,  and  in  strength 
and  cheerfulness  in  the  duties  of  obedience,13  the  proper 
fruits  of  this  assurance  :  so  far  is  it  from  inclining  men 
to  looseness.14 

Section  IV. — True  believers  may  have  the  assurance 
of  their  salvation  divers  ways  shaken,  diminished,  and 
intermitted ;  as,  by  negligence  in  preserving  of  it  :  by 
falling  into  some  special  sin,  which  woundeth  the  con- 
science, and  grieveth  the  Spirit;  by  some  sudden  or 
vehement  temptation ;  by  God's  withdrawing  the  light 
of  his  countenance,  and  suffering  even  such  as  fear  him 
to  walk  in  darkness,  and  to  have  no  light ; 15  yet  are 
they  never  utterly  destitute  of  that  seed  of  God,  and  life 
of  faith,  that  love  of  Christ  and  the  brethren,  that  sin- 
cerity of  heart  and  conscience  of  duty,  out  of  which,  by 

10  1  John  v.   13.     Isa.   1.    10.    Mark  I  14  1  John  ii.   1,  2.    Rom.  vi.   1,  2. 

ix.   24.     Ps.  lxxxviii.;    lxxvii.  Tit.  ii.  11,  12,  14.    2  Cor.  vii.  1. 

1-12.  Rom.    viii.   1,  12.     1   John   iii. 

11  1  Cor.  ii.  12.     1  John  iv.  13.     Heb.  2,  3.      Ps.  cxxx.  4.    1  John  i 

vi.  11,  12.     Eph.  iii.  17-19.  6,7. 

12  2  Pet.  i.  10.  |  is  Cant.  v.  2.  3,  6.    Ps.  Ii.  8,  12,  14 

13  Rom.  v.  1,  2,  5 ;  xiv.  17 ;  xv.  13.  I  Eph.  iv.   30,  31.      Ps.    lxxvii. 

Eph.    i.   3,    4.      Ps.    iv.    6,  7;  1-10.      Matt.  xxvi.  69-72.    Ps. 

cxix.  32.  [  xxxi,  22 ;    lxxxviii.     Isa.  1.  10. 

*  Chalmers*  Lectures  on  the  Romans,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  64-66,  68. 


t--' 


190  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  this  assurance  may  in  due 
time  be  revived,16  and  by  the  which,  in  the  meantime, 
they  are  supported  from  utter  despair.17 

14  Uohn  iii.  9.     Luke  xxii.  32.    Jobl17  Micah  vii.  7-9.      Jcr.    xxxii.    40. 
xiii.  15.    Ps.  lxxiii.  15 ;  li.  8,  12.  Isa.    liv.    7-10.      Ps.    xxii.    1; 

Isa.  1.  10.  |  lxxxviii. 

EXPOSITION. 

That  the  assurance  that  one  is  in  a  gracious  state  does  not 
belong  to  the  essence  of  faith,  requires  no  proof.  This  as- 
surance arises  from  the  perception  of  the  fruits  and  evidences 
I  of  faith;  and  it  is  manifest  that  faith  must  exist  before  its 
evidences  can  be  discerned.  All  faith  is  founded  on  testi- 
mony; but  there  is  no  testimony  in  the  Scriptures  declaring 
to  any  man  that  he  is  in  a  state  of  grace;  this,  therefore, 
cannot  be  object  of  faith.  This  kind  of  assurance,  as  has 
been  already  shown,  is  ordinarily  obtained  by  reflection,  or 
by  a  process  of  reasoning.  But,  although  the  assurance  de- 
scribed in  this  chapter  is  not  essential  to  faith,  yet  there  is 
an  assurance  which  belongs  to  the  essence  of  faith,  and  this 
our  Confession  recognises  in  the  chapter  which  treats  of  sav- 
ing faith.  It  makes  the  principal  acts  of  saving  faith  to  con- 
sist in  "  accepting,  receiving,  and  resting "  on  Christ  for 
salvation;  and  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  rest  on  Christ  for  1 1 
salvation  without  believing  or  trusting  that  he  shall  be  saved  ' 
by  him.  Whoever  rests  upon  a  person  for  doing  a  certain 
thing  in  his  favour,  must  have  a  persuasion,  or  assurance, 
that  he  will  do  that  thing  for  him.  Indeed,  assurance  is  so  I 
essential  to  faith,  that  without  it  there  can  be  no  faith,  hu- 
man or  divine.  To  believe  a  report,  is  to  be  persuaded  or 
assured  of  the  truth  of  the  report;  to  believe  a  promise,  is  to 
be  persuaded  or  assured  that  the  promiser  will  do  as  he  has 
said.  In  like  manner,  to  believe  in  Christ  for  salvation,  is  to 
be  persuaded  or  assured  that  we  shall  be  saved  through  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

,  That  assurance  which  is  essential  to  faith,  is  generally 
/  termed  the  assurance  of  faith ;  and  the  assurance  of  grace  and 
salvation  is  termed  the  assurance  of  sense.  By  some  the  former 
is  called  an  objective,  and  the  latter  a  subjective  assurance. 
There  is  a  marked  distinction  hetween  them;  the  former 
having  for  its  object  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  the  gospel 
testimony;  whereas  the  latter  has  for  its  object  the  ex- 
istence of  a  gracious  work  in  the  soul.  The  former  arises 
from  a  single  view  of  what  is  contained  in  the  Word  of  God;> 
the  latter,  from  a  combined  view  of  his  Word  without  us  and 
of  his  work  within  us.    The  former  is  an  assurance  that  God 


SECT.  3,  4.]     ASSURANCE  OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION.    191 

is  presently  giving  Christ,  with  his  salvation  to  us,  in  the  free 
offer  and  promise  of  the  gospel;  the  latter  is  an  assurance 
that  Christ  and  his  salvation  are  already  ours  in  real  posses- 
sion and  enjoyment.  That  is  inseparable  from  saving  faith; 
this  is  both  separable,  and  often  actually  separated,  from  the 
exercise  of  true  faith. 

There  are  tvoi-extremes  in  reference  to  this  subject,  which 
ought  to  be  avoided.  The  one  is,  that  there  is  no  assurance  / 
in  the  direct  act  of  faith,  and  that  assurance  can  only  be  de- 
rived from  the  marks  and  evidences  of  a  gracious  state;  the 
other  is,  that  the  assurance  of  personal  salvation  is  so  essen-  •V 
tial  to  saving  faith,  that  no  one  can  be  a  genuine  believer  who 
has  any  doubts  of  his  own  salvation.  We  apprehend,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  while  the  assurance  which  arises  from  marks 
and  evidences  of  a  gracious  state  does  not  belong  to  the 
essence  of  faith,  yet  there  is  an  assurance  in  the  direct  act 
of  faith,  founded  upon  nothing  about  the  person  himself,  but 
solely  upon  the  Word  of  God;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
though  there  is  an  assurance  essential  to  faith,  yet  the  be- 
liever may  be  often  perplexed  with  doubts  and  fears  concern- 
ing his  personal  salvation,  because  there  is  still  much  unbelief, 
and  other  corruptions,  remaining  in  him,  and  these  frequently 
prevail  against  him.  * 

It  will  be  sufficient  briefly  to  state  the  other  truths  con- 
tained in  these  sections. 

1.  As  the  assurance  of  their  gracious  state  is  attainable  by 
believers,  in  the  due  use  of  ordinary  means,  so  it  is  their 
duty  to  give  diligence,  and  use  their  utmost  endeavours  to 
obtain  it.  This  is  incumbent  upon  them  by  the  command  of 
God,  and  it  is  necessary  to  their  own  comfort,  though  not  to 
their  safety. 

2.  This  assurance  isn  ot  the  attainment  of  all  believers; 
and,  after  it  has  been  enjoyed,  it  may  be  weakened,  and  even 
lost  for  a  season.  It  is  liable  to  be  shaken  by  bodily  infir- 
mity, by  their  own  negligence,  by  temptation,  by  that  visita- 
tion of  God  which  the  Scriptures  call  his  hiding  his  face  from 
his  people,  and  by  occasional  transgression. 

3.  Although  believers  may  forfeit  their  assurance,  yet  they 
are  never  entirely  destitute  of  gracious  habits  and  disposi- 
tions, nor  left  to  sink  into  utter  despair;  and  their  assurance 
may.  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  be  in  due  time  revived. 

4.  This  assurance,  instead  of  encouraging  believers  to  in- 
dulge in  sin,  excites  them  to  the  vigorous  pursuit  of  holiness. 
Such  as  boast  of  their  assurance,  and  yet  can  deliberately 
practise  known  sin,  are  only  vain  pretenders.  True  assu- 
rance cannot  be  attained  or  preserved  without  close  walking 


192  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XIX. 

with  God  in  all  his  commandments  and  ordinances  blame- 
less. We  must  judge  of  the  tendency  of  the  assurance  of 
salvation  by  what  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  have  said  con- 
cerning it ;  and  they  uniformly  improve  it  as  a  motive  to 
holiness Rom.  xiii.  11-14;  1  Cor.  xv.  58;  1  John  iii.  2,  3. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

OF  THE  LAW  OF  GOD. 

Section  I. — God  gave  to  Adam  a  law,  as  a  covenant 
of  works,  by  which  he  bound  him,  and  all  his  posterity, 
to  personal,  entire,  exact,  and  perpetual  obedience  ;  pro- 
mised life  upon  the  fulfilling,  and  threatened  death  upon 
the  breach  of  it;  and  endued  him  with  power  and 
ability  to  keep  it.1 

i  Gen.  i.  26,  27 ;   ii.   17.      Rom.  ii.  I  iii.  10,  12.     Eccl.  vii.  29.    Job 

14,  15  ;    x.  5 ;  v.  12,  19.     Gal.  |  xviii.  28. 

EXPOSITION. 

God  having  formed  man  an  intelligent  creature,  and  a  sub- 
ject of  moral  government,  he  gave  him  a  law  for  the  rule  of 
his  conduct.  This  law  was  founded  in  the  infinitely  righteous 
nature  of  God,  and  the  moral  relations  necessarily  subsisting 
between  him  and  man.  It  was  originally  written  on  the  heart 
of  man,  as  he  was  endowed  with  such  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
his  Maker's  will  as  was  sufficient  to  inform  him  concerning 
the  whole  extent  of  his  duty,  in  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed,  and  was  also  furnished  with  power  and  ability 
to  yield  all  that  obedience  which  was  required  of  him.  This 
is  included  in  the  moral  image  of  God,  after  which  man  was 
created.— Gen.  i.  27.  The  law,  as  thus  inscribed  on  the  heart 
of  the  first  man,  is  often  styled  the  law  of  creation,  because  it 
was  the  will  of  the  sovereign  Creator,  revealed  to  the  rea- 
sonable creature,  by  impressing  it  upon  his  mind  and  heart 
at  his  creation.  It  is  also  called  the  moral  law,  because  it  was 
a  revelation  of  the  will  of  God,  as  his  moral  governor,  and  was 
the  standard  and  rule  of  man's  moral  actions.  Adam  was 
originally  placed  under  this  law  in  its  natural  form,  as  merely 
directing  and  obliging  him  to  perfect  obedience.    He  was 


SECT.  2.]  OF  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  193 

brought  under  it  in  a  covenant  form,  when  an  express  threaten- 
ing of  death,  and  a  gracious  promise  of  life,  was  annexed  to 
it ;  and  then  a  positive  precept  was  added,  enjoining  him  not 
to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  as  the  test  of  his 
obedience  to  the  whole  law. — Gen.  ii.  16,  17.  That  this 
covenant  was  made  with  the  first  man,  not  as  a  single  person, 
but  as  the  federal  representative  of  all  his  natural  posterity, 
has  been  formerly  shown.*  The  law,  as  invested  with  a  cove- 
nant form,  is  called,  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  The  law  of 
works"  (Rom.  iii.  27) ;  that  is,  the  law  as  a  covenant  of 
works.  In  this  form,  the  law  is  to  be  viewed  as  not  only 
prescribing  duty,  but  as  promising  life  as  the  reward  of  obe- 
dience, and  denouncing  death  as  the  punishment  of  trans- 
gression. This  law  "  which  was  ordained  to  life,"  is  now 
become  a  weak  through  the  flesh,"  or  through  the  corrup- 
tion of  our  fallen  nature.  It  prescribes  terms  which  we  are 
incapable  of  performing ;  and  instead  of  being  encouraged  to 
seek  life  by  our  own  obedience  to  the  law  as  a  covenant,  we 
are  required  to  renounce  all  hopes  of  salvation  in  that  way, 
and  to  seek  it  by  faith  in  Christ.  But  all  men  are  naturally 
under  the  law  as  a  broken  covenant,  obnoxious  to  its  penalty, 
and  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  its  commands.  The  cove- 
nant being  made  with  Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  also 
for  all  his  posterity,  when  he  violated  it,  he  left  them  all 
under  it  as  a  broken  covenant.  Most  miserable,  therefore, 
is  the  condition  of  all  men  by  nature  ;  for  "  as  many  as  are 
of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse." — Gal.  iii.  10. 
Truly  infatuated  are  they  who  seek  for  righteousness  by  the 
works  of  the  law ;  for  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh 
be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God." — Rom.  iii.  20. 

Section  II. — This  law,  after  his  fall,  continued  to  be 
a  perfect  rule  of  righteousness;  and,  as  such,  was  delivered 
by  God  upon  Mount  Sinai  in  ten  commandments,  and 
written  in  two  tables;2  the  first  four  commandments 
containing  our  duty  towards  God,  and  the  other  six  our 
duty  to  man.8 

2  James  i.  25 ;  ii.  8,  10-12.    Rom.  xiii.  8,  9.   Deut.  v.  32 ;  x.  4.    Exod.  xxxiv.  1. 

'  Matt.  xxii.  37-40. 

EXPOSITION. 

Upon  the  fall  of  man,  the  law,  considered  as  a  covenant  of 

works,   was  disannulled  and  set  aside ;  but,  considered  as 

moral,  it  continued  to  be  a  perfect  rule  of  righteousness. 

*  See  page  86. 

N 


19$  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH*  £cHAP.  XIX* 

That  fair  copy  of  the  law  which  had  been  inscribed  on  the 
heart  of  the  first  man  in  his  creation,  was,  by  the  fall,  greatly 
defaced,  although  not  totally  obliterated.  Some  faint  im- 
pressions of  it  still  remain  on  the  minds  of  all  reasonable 
creatures.  Its  general  principles,  such  as,  that  God  is  to  be 
worshipped,  that  parents  ought  to  be  honoured,  that  we 
should  do  to  others  what  we  would  reasonably  wish  that 
they  should  do  to  us — such  general  principles  as  these  are 
still,  in  some  degree,  engraven  on  the  minds  of  all  men.—. 
Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  But  the  original  edition  of  the  law  being 
greatly  obliterated,  God  was  graciously  pleased  to  give  a  new 
and  complete  copy  of  it.  He  delivered  it  to  the  Israelites 
from  Mount  Sinai,  with  awful  solemnity.  In  this  promulga- 
tion of  the  law,  he  summed  it  up  in  ten  commandments; 
and,  therefore,  it  is  commonly  styled  the  Law  of  the  Ten 
Commandments.  These  commandments  were  written  by  the 
finger  of  God  himself  on  two  tables  of  stone. — Exod.  xxxii. 
15y  16,  xxxiv.  1.  The  first  four  commandments  contain  our 
duty  to  God,  and  the  other  six  our  duty  to  man ;  and  they 
are  summed  up  by  our  Saviour  in  the  two  great  command- 
ments, of  loving  God  with  all  our  hearts,  and  our  neighbour 
as  ourselves. — Matt.  xxii.  37-40.  The  Church  of  Rome  as- 
sign only  three  precepts  to  the  first  table,  and  seven  to  the 
second.  They  join  together  the  first  and  second  command- 
ments, and  that  for  an  obvious  reason.  Standing  separately, 
the  second  forbids  the  use  of  images  in  the  worship  of  God, 
and  plainly  condemns  the  practice  of  that  Church;  but  viewed 
as  an  appendage  to  the  first  precept,  it  only  forbids,  as  they 
pretend,  the  worship  of  the  images  of  false  gods  ;  and,  con- 
sequently, leaves  them  at  liberty  to  worship  the  images 
which  they  have  consecrated  to  the  honour  of  the  true  God 
and  his  saints.  Having  thus  turned  two  precepts  into  one, 
in  order  to  make  up  the  number  of  ten,  they  split  the  last 
precept  of  the  decalogue  into  two,  making  "  Thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbour's  house,"  one,  and  the  words  which  fol- 
low, another.  This  division  cannot  be  vindicated.  The  two 
first  precepts  obviously  relate  to  distinct  things.  The  first 
points  out  the  object  of  worship,  viz.,  the  living  and  true 
God,  and  no  other.  The  second  prescribes  the  means  of 
Avorship — not  by  images  or  any  other  plan  of  human  inven- 
tion, but  by  the  ordinances  which  are  divinely  appointed. 
The  tenth  precept  is  as  clearly  one  and  indivisible.  The 
whole  of  it  relates  to  one  subject — covetousness,  or  unlawful 
desire ;  and  if  it  ought  to  be  divided  into  two,  because  the 
words  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet"  are  twice  repeated,  it  would 
follow  that  it  should  be  divided  into  as  many  commands 


SECT.  3.]  OP  THE  LAW  OP  GOD.  195 

as  there  are  different  classes  of  objects  specified ;  for  the 
words  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet"  must  be  understood  as 
prefixed  to  each  of  these  objects.  The  Apostle  Paul  plainly 
speaks  of  it  as  one  precept,  when  he  says  :  "  I  had  not 
known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  covet." 
— Rom.  vii.  7. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  law  of  the  ten  command- 
ments was  promulgated  to  Israel  from  Sinai  in  the  form  of  a 
covenant  of  works.  Not  that  it  was  the  design  of  God  to 
renew  a  covenant  of  works  with  Israel,  or  to  put  them  upon 
seeking  life  by  their  own  obedience  to  the  law ;  but  the  law 
was  published  to  them  as  a  covenant  of  works,  to  show  them 
that  without  a  perfect  righteousness,  answering  to  all  the 
demands  of  the  law,  they  could  not  be  justified  before  God ; 
and  that,  finding  themselves  wholly  destitute  of  that  righ- 
teousness, they  might  be  excited  to  take  hold  of  the  covenant 
of  grace,  in  which  a  perfect  righteousness  for  their  justifica- 
tion is  graciously  provided.  The  Sinai  transaction  was  a 
mixed  dispensation.  In  it  the  covenant  of  grace  was  pub- 
lished, as  appears  from  these  words  in  the  preface  standing 
before  the  commandments  :  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which 
have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house 
of  bondage  ;"  and  from  the  promulgation  of  the  ceremonial 
law  at  the  sametime.  But  the  moral  law,  as  a  covenant  of 
works,  was  also  displayed,  to  convince  the  Israelites  of  their 
sinfulness  and  misery,  to  teach  them  the  necessity  of  an  atone- 
ment, and  lead  them  to  embrace  by  faith  the  blessed  Media- 
tor, the  Seed  promised  to  Abraham,  in  whom  all  the  families 
of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed.  The  law,  therefore,  was 
published  at  Sinai  as  a  covenant  of  works,  in  subservience 
to  the  covenant  of  grace.  And  the  law  is  still  published  in 
subservience  to  the  gospel,  as  "  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  sin- 
ners to  Christ,  that  they  may  be  justified  by  faith." — Gal. 
iii.  24. 

Section  III. — Besides  this  law,  commonly  called 
Moral,  God  was  pleased  to  give  to  the  people  of  Israel, 
as  a  Church  under  age,  ceremonial  laws,  containing 
several  typical  ordinances  :  partly  of  worship,  prefigur- 
ing Christ,  his  graces,  actions,  sufferings,  and  benefits ; 4 
and  partly  holding  forth  divers  instructions  of  moral 
duties.5  All  which  ceremonial  laws  are  now  abrogated 
under  the  New  Testament.6 


j.  ix. ;  x..l. 

Gal.  iv. 

1-3. 

Col. 

1  6  1  Cor.  v.  7.    2  Cor.  vi.  17.     Jnde23. 

ii.  17. 

6  Col.  ii.    14,   16,    17.      Dan.  ix.   Si. 
Eph.  ii.  15,  16. 

196  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £  CHAP.  XXI. 

Section  IV. — To  them,  also,  as  a  body  politic,  he 
gave  sundry  judicial  laws,  which  expired  together  with 
the  state  of  that  people,  not  obliging  any  other  now,  fur- 
ther than  the  general  equity  thereof  may  require.7 

Section  V. — The  moral  law  doth  for  ever  bind  all, 
as  well  justified  persons  as  others,  to  the  obedience  there- 
of; 8  and  that  not  only  in  regard  of  the  matter  contained 
in  it,  but  also  in  respect  of  the  authority  of  God,  the 
Creator,  who  gave  it.9  Neither  doth  Christ  in  the  gospel 
any  way  dissolve,  but  much  strengthen  this  obliga- 
tion.10 

7  Exod.    xxi. ;    xxii.    1-29.       Gen.  I  8  Rom.  xiii.  8-10.    Eph.  vi.  2.   1  John 
xlix.     10.      1    Pet.   ii.    13,    14.  |  ii.  3,  4,  7,  8. 

Matt.  v.  17,  38,  39.      1   Cor.  ix.  I  »  James  ii.  10,  11. 
8-10.  I  10  Matt.  v.  17-19.    Jamesii.  8.    Rom. 

|  iii.  31. 

EXPOSITION. 

Besides  the  moral  law,  God  gave  to  Israel  ceremonial  and 
judicial  laws ;  the  two  latter  are  of  limited  and  temporary 
use ;  the  former  is  of  universal  and  perpetual  obligation. 

1.  The  ceremonial  law  respected  the  Jews  in  their  eccle- 
siastical capacity,  or  as  a  Church,  and  prescribed  the  rites 
and  carnal  ordinances  which  were  to  be  observed  by  them  in 
the  external  worship  of  God.  These  ceremonies  were  chiefly 
designed  to  prefigure  Christ,  and  lead  them  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  way  of  salvation  through  him. — Heb.  x.  i.  This  law 
is  abrogated  under  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  This 
appears — 1.  From  the  nature  of  the  law  itself.  It  was  given 
to  the  Jews  to  separate  them  from  the  idolatrous  rites  of 
other  nations,  and  to  preserve  their  religion  uncorrupted. 
But  when  the  gospel  was  preached  to  all  nations,  and  Jews 
and  Gentiles  were  gathered  into  one  body,  under  Christ,  their 
Head,  the  wall  of  separation  was  taken  down. — Eph.  ii.  14, 
15.  2.  Because  these  ceremonies  were  only  figures  of  good  - 
things  to  come,  imposed  upon  the  Jews  until  the  time  of  re- 
formation, and  were  abrogated  by  Christ,  in  whom  they  were 
realized  and  substantiated. — Heb.  ix.  9-12.  3.  Because  these  • 
ceremonies  were  given  to  the  Israelites  to  typify  and  repre- 
sent Christ  and  his  death;  and,  since  Christ  has  come,  and  has, 
by  his  death  and  satisfaction,  accomplished  all  that  they  pre- 
figured, these  types  must  be  abolished. — Col.  ii.  17.  4.  Be- 
cause many  of  these  rites  were  restricted  to  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem,  and  the  temple  being  now  destroyed,  these  rites 
must  cease  along  with  it.  5.  Because  the  apostles  expressly 
taught,  that  the  ceremonial  law  is  abrogated  under  thev 


SECT.  6.]  OP  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  If) 7 

Christian  dispensation. — Acts  xv.  24.  One  chief  design  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is,  to  prove  that  this  law  must 
necessarily  be  disannulled. — Heb.  vii.  12. 

2.  The  judicial  law  respected  the  Jews  in  their  political 
capacity,  or  as  a  nation,  and  consisted  of  those  institutions 
which  God  prescribed  to  them  for  their  civil  government. 
This  law,  as  far  as  the  Jewish  polity  was  peculiar,  has  also 
been  entirely  abolished ;  but  as  far  as  it  contains  any  statute 
founded  in  the  law  of  nature  common  to  all  nations,  it  is  still 
obligatory. 

3.  The  moral  law  is  so  called  because  it  relates  to  moral 
actions,  and  to  distinguish  it  from  the  positive  laws,  which  were 
only  of  temporary  obligation.  This  law  has  no  relation  to 
times  and  places,  or  to  one  nation  more  than  another ;  but 
being  founded  in  the  relations  of  men  to  their  Creator,  and  to 
one  another,  it  retains  its  authority  under  all  dispensations. 
In  opposition  to  the  Antinomians,  who  say  that  believers  are 
released  from  the  obligation  of  the  moral  law,  our  Confession 
teaches  that  this  law  is  perpetually  binding  on  justified  per- 
sons, as  well  as  others.  Believers  are,  indeed,  delivered  from 
this  law  in  its  covenant  form;  but  they  are  still  under  it  as  a 
rule  of  life,  in  the  hand  of  the  Mediator,  being  "  not  without 
law  to  God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ." — 1  Cor.  ix.  21. 
Christ,  in  the  most  solemn  and  explicit  manner,  declared, 
that  he  "  came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it." — 
Matt.  v.  17.  He  fulfilled  it,  as  a  covenant,  by  his  own  per- 
fect obedience,  and  his  most  grievous  sufferings  in  the  room 
of  his  people ;  and  its  heavenly  precepts  he  has  enforced  upon 
their  minds,  by  the  most  cogent  motives,  as  a  perfect  rule  of 
duty.  The  gospel,  instead  of  weakening  the  obligation  of  the 
law,  confirms  and  strengthens  its  authority,  and  enforces 
obedience  to  its  precepts  by  the  strongest  motives :  "  Do  we 
make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid ;  nay,  we 
establish  the  law." — Rom.  iii.  31.  Although  the  moral  law 
is  to  believers  divested  of  its  covenant  form,  it  remains  im- 
mutably the  same,  in  regard  both  to  its  matter  and  its  autho- 
rity. And  as  the  law  was  binding  on  the  first  man  as  a 
rule  of  life,  antecedent  to  any  covenant- transaction  between 
God  and  him,  we  may  easily  understand  that  the  law  may  be 
entirely  divested  of  its  covenant  form,  while  it  continues  in 
full  force  as  a  rule  of  moral  conduct. 

Section  VI. — Although  true  believers  be  not  under 
the  law  as  a  covenant  of  works,  to  be  thereby  justified 
or  condemned :  u  yet  is  it  of  great  use  to  them,  as  well 

11  Rom.  vi.  14.    Gal.  ii.  16;  iii.  13 ;  iv.  4,  5.     Acts  xiii.  39.     Rom.  viiU  1. 


W8 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QdlAP.  XIX. 


as  to  others :  in  that,  as  a  rule  of  life,  informing  them  of 
the  will  of  God  and  their  duty,  it  directs  and  binds  them 
to  walk  accordingly;12  discovering  also  the  sinful  pollu- 
tions of  their  nature,  hearts,  and  lives  ; 13  so  as  examining 
themselves  thereby,  they  may  come  to  further  conviction 
of,  humiliation  for,  and  hatred  against  sin ; 14  together 
with  a  clearer  sight  of  the  need  they  have  of  Christ,  and 
the  perfection  of  his  obedience.15  It  is  likewise  of  use  to 
the  regenerate,  to  restrain  their  corruptions,  in  that  it 
forbids  sin ; w  and  the  threatenings  of  it  serve  to  show 
what  even  their  sins  deserve,  and  what  afflictions  in  this 
life  they  may  expect  for  them,  although  freed  from  the 
curse  thereof  threatened  in  the  law.17  The  promises  of 
it,  in  like  manner,  show  them  God's  approbation  of 
obedience,  and  what  blessings  they  may  expect  upon  the 
performance  thereof,18  although  not  as  due  to  them  by 
the  law  as  a  covenant  of  works : 19  so  as  a  man's  doing 
good,  and  refraining  from  evil,  because  the  law  encou- 
rageth  to  the  one  and  deterreth  from  the  other,  is  no 
evidence  of  his  being  under  the  law,  and  not  under 
grace.20 

Section  VII. — Neither  are  the  fore-mentioned  uses  of 
the  law  contrary  to  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  but  do  sweetly 
comply  with  it;21  the  Spirit  of  Christ  subduing  and 
enabling  the  will  of  man  to  do  that  freely  and  cheerfully 
which  the  will  of  God  revealed  in  the  law  requireth  to 
be  done.22 


12  Rom.  vii.  12,  22,  25.    Ps.  cxix.  4-6. 

1  Cor.  vii.  19.     Gal.  v.   14,  16, 
18-23. 

13  Rom.  vii.  7;  iii-  20. 

i*  James  i.  23-25.     Rom.  vii.  9,  14,24. 
15  Gal.  iii.  24.     Rom.  vii.  24,  25  ;  viii. 

3,4. 
18  James  ii.  11.  Ps.cxix.  101,  104,128. 
"  Ezraix.  13,  14.     Ps.  lxxxix.  30-34. 


«  Lev.  xxvi.  1-14.  2  Cor.  vi.  16. 
Eph.  vi.  2,  3.  Ps.  xxxvii.  11. 
Matt.  v.  5.     Ps.  xix.  11. 

19  Gal.  ii.  16.    Luke  xvii.  10. 

20  Rom.  vi.  12,14.   1  Pet.iii.8-12.  Ps. 

xxxiv.  1 2- 16.     Heb.  xii.  28,  29. 
2i  Gal.  iii.  21. 
22  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27.     Heb.   viii.    10. 

Jer.  xxxi.  33. 


EXPOSITION. 

It  is  here  affirmed,  that  true  believers  are  completely  de- 
livered from  the  law,  as  a  covenant  of  works.  Christ,  as 
their  representative  and  surety,  endured  the  curse  of  the 
law  in  all  its  bitterness,  and  in  its  utmost  extent,  in  his 
sufferings  unto  death,  and  thus  set  them  completely  free  from 
its  condemning  power Gal.  iii.  13;  Rom.  viii.  1. 


But  had 


SECT.  6y  7.  J  OF  THE  LAW  OF  GOD.  199 

Christ  only  endured  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  still  left  his 
people  under  its  commanding  power  as  a  covenant,  this 
would  only  have  restored  them  to  the  same  uncertain  state 
of  probation  in  which  Adam  originally  stood,  and  every 
transgression  would  have  again  involved  them  under  the 
eurse.  Christ,  however,  not  only  sustained  the  full  infliction 
of  the  penalty  of  the  law,  he  also  yielded  perfect  obedience 
to  its  precepts,  and  thus  obtained  for  his  people  deliverance 
from  its  commanding,  as  well  as  its  condemning  power.  To 
show  the  complete  nature  of  this  freedom,  we  are  told  that 
they  are  dead  to  the  law  through  the  body  of  Christ;  that 
Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  belie veth;  and  that  they  are  not  under  the  law,  but 
under  grace. — Rom.  vii.  4,  x.  4,  vi.  14. 

The  doctrine  of  the  believer's  freedom  from  the  law,  as  a 
covenant,  has  no  tendency  to  licentiousness;  for  it  has  already 
been  established,  that  they  are  under  the  obligation  of  the 
law  as  a  rule  of  life;  and  here  it  is  further  shown  that  the 
law  is  of  manifold  use  to  them,  as  well  as  to  others :  "  The 
law  is  good,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  if  a  man  use  it  law- 
fully" (1  Tim.  i.  8);  that  is,  if  he  use  it  in  a  suitableness  to 
the  state  wherein  he  is,  either  as  a  believer  or  an  unbeliever. 
The  law  serves  numerous  and  important  purposes,  both  to 
the  unregenerate  and  to  the  regenerate.  Some  of  these  uses 
may  be  briefly  stated: — 

First.  To  the  unregenerate  the  moral  law  is  of  use  in  the  fol- 
lowing respects : — 

1.  To  restrain  them  from  much  sin 1  Tim.  i.  9. 

2.  To  convince  them  of  their  sinfulness  and  misery. — 
Rom.  iii.  20,  vii.  9. 

3.  To  discover  to  them  their  absolute  need  of  Christ,  and 
drive  them  to  him  as  their  all-sufficient  Saviour.— Gal.  iii.  24. 

4.  To  render  them  inexcusable,  if  they  continue  in  their 
sins,  and  finally  reject  the  only  Saviour  of  lost  sinners. — 
Rom.  i.  20,  ii.  15;  John  iii.  18,  36. 

Second.  The  moral  law  is  of  use  to  the  regenerate  in  the 
following  respects : — 

1.  To  render  Christ  more  precious  to  them,  and  excite 
their  gratitude  to  him  who  so  loved  them  as  to  obey  its 
precepts  and  suffer  its  penalty,  that  he  might  deliver  them 
from  it  as  a  covenant. — Gal.  iii.  13,  iv.  4,  5. 

2.  To  show  them  the  will  of  God,  and  regulate  their  con- 
duct.— Mic.  vi.  8. 

3.  To  serve  as  a  standard  of  self-examination,  in  order  to 
discover  the  pollutions  of  their  hearts  and  lives — to  keep 
them  self-abased — to  lead  them  to  a  constant  dependence 


200  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XX. 

upon  Christ,  and  to  excite  them  to  a  progressive  advance- 
ment in  holiness.— Phil.  iii.  10-14. 

4.  To  serve  as  a  test  of  their  sincerity,  that  they  may 
assure  their  hearts  that  they  are  of  the  truth,  and  that  they 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  man,  notwith- 
standing their  manifold  defects  in  duty. — 1  John  iii.  19; 
Rom.  vii.  22,  25 ;  2  Cor.  i.  12. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OF  CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY,  AND  LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE. 

Section  I. — The  liberty  which  Christ  hath  purchased 
for  believers  under  the  gospel,  consists  in  their  freedom 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  the  condemning  wrath  of  God,  the 
curse  of  the  moral  law ; l  and  in  their  being  delivered 
from  this  present  evil  world,  bondage  to  Satan,  and 
dominion  of  sin,2  from  the  evil  of  afflictions,  the  sting  of 
death,  the  victory  of  the  grave,  and  everlasting  damna- 
tion; 3  as  also  in  their  free  access  to  God,4  and  their  yield- 
ing obedience  unto  him,  not  out  of  slavish  fear,  but  a 
childlike  love,  and  willing  mind.5  All  which  were  com- 
mon also  to  believers  under  the  law; 6  but  under  the  New 
Testament,  the  liberty  of  Christians  is  further  enlarged 
in  their  freedom  from  the  yoke  of  the  ceremonial  law, 
to  which  the  Jewish  Church  was  subjected,7  and  in 
greater  boldness  of  access  to  the  throne  of  grace,8  and  in 
fuller  communications  of  the  free  Spirit  of  God  than 
believers  under  the  law  did  ordinarily  partake  of.9 

i  Tit.  ii.  14.      1  Thess.  i.   10.    Gal.  I  *  Rom.  v.  1,  2. 

iii.  13.  5  Rom.  viii.  14,  15.     1  John  iv.  18. 

J  Gal.  i.  4.  Col.  i.  13.  Acts  xxvi.  18.  |  «  Gal.  iii.  9,  14. 

Rom.  vi.  14.  j  *  Gal.  iv.  1  -3,  6,  7;  v.  1.  Acts  xv.  10,  II. 

*  Rom.  viii.  28.    Ps.  cxix.  71.    1  Cor.     8  Heb.  iv.  14,  16;  x.  19-22. 

xv.  54-57.     Rom.  viii.  1.  |  »  John  vii.  38,  39.    2  Cor.  iii.  13,  17,  18. 

EXPOSITION. 
Civil  liberty  is  justly  esteemed  an  invaluable  privilege, 
and  no  sacrifice  is  deemed  too  great  in  order  to  recover  it 


SECT.  1.]  OP  CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY.  201 

when  lost,  or  to  secure  it  when  enjoyed.  But  valuable  as 
civil  liberty  is,  it  cannot  be  questioned  that  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  makes  his  people  free  is  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred. In  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  soul  above  the 
body,  so  must  the  liberty  that  respects  the  one  surpass  that 
which  merely  relates  to  the  other.  Those  whom  Christ 
makes  free  are  free  indeed. — John  viii.  36.  Christian  liberty 
may  be  considered,  either  as  common  to  believers  in  every 
age,  or  as  a  special  immunity  of  the  children  of  God  under 
the  New  Testament  dispensation.  That  liberty  which  is 
common  to  believers  in  all  ages  consists  in  their  freedom — 

1.  From  the  guilt  and  the  dominion  of  sin.  By  the  guilt 
of  sin  is  meant  an  obligation  to  suffer  eternal  punishment  on 
account  of  sin.  From  this  believers  are  freed  by  an  act  of 
pardoning  mercy,  which  is  passed  upon  the  ground  of  Christ's 
blood.  "  They  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  giace." — Eph. 
i.  7.  But  sin  is  not  only  accompanied  with  guilt,  it  also  exer- 
cises a  rigorous  dominion  over  the  sinner.  From  the  reigning 
power  of  sin  Christ  delivers  bis  people  in  the  day  of  their 
regeneration ;  and  although  sin  still  dwells  in  them,  its  power 
is  gradually  weakened  in  their  progressive  sanctification,  and 
its  very  being  shall  in  due  time  be  abolished.  Hence  the 
Apostle  Paul  thus  addresses  believers :  "  Sin  shall  not  have 
dominion  over  you."  "  Being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become 
servants  unto  God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the 
end  everlasting  life." — Rom.  vi.  14,  22. 

2.  From  the  condemning  wrath  of  God.  To  the  wrath  of 
God  all  men  are  naturally  obnoxious.  Being  children  of 
disobedience,  they  are  also  children  of  wrath. — Eph.  ii.  2,  3. 
But,  upon  the  ground  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imputed 
to  them,  believers  are  completely  freed  from  divine  wrath. 
"  There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus." — Rom.  viii.  1.  God  may  hide  his  face  from  them, 
but  his  judicial  wrath  is  for  ever  turned  away  from  them. — 
Isa.  liv.  9,  10;  Rom.  v.  10. 

3.  From  the  curse  of  the  law  as  a  broken  covenant.  Under 
that  curse  all  men  lie  naturally;  for  it  is  written  :  "  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." — Gal.  iii.  10.  But  Christ, 
having  endured  that  curse  as  the  Surety  of  his  people,  delivers 
from  it  all  who  are  found  in  him.  Hence  the  Apostle  Paul 
saith :  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us." — Gal.  iii.  13.  Though  believers 
are  under  the  moral  law  as  a  rule  of  life,  they  are  completely 
freed  from  it  as  a  covenant  of  works — freed  from  both  its 


202  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XX. 

commanding  and  condemning  power;  and,  therefore,  they 
cannot  be  subjected  to  its  curse  on  account  of  their  trans- 
gressions. "  Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace." — 
Rom.  vi.  14.  "  Now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law,  that 
being  dead  wherein  we  were  held." — Rom.  vii.  6. 

4.  From  this  present  evil  world.  The  world  is  another 
tyrannical  master,  under  whose  power  and  influence  all  men 
naturally  are.  But  believers  are  freed  from  the  power  of 
this  fascinating  and  destructive  foe.  This  freedom  Christ 
has  obtained  for  them,  and  bestows  upon  them.  "  He  gave 
himself  for  our  sins,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  this  pre- 
sent evil  world,  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our  Father." 
— Gal.  i.  4.  Through  the  powerful  influence  of  his  cross, 
believers  are  crucified  unto  the  world,  and  the  world  unto 
them. — Gal.  vi.  14. 

5.  From  bondage  to  Satan.  All  men  are  by  nature  the 
captives  of  Satan,  who  is,  therefore,  called  "  the  god  of  this 
world."  Having  taken  them  in  his  snare,  they  are  become 
his  prey,  and  are  "  taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will."  But 
Christ  "  was  manifested  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil;" 
and  "  through  death  he  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is,  the  devil."  In  the  gospel  he  proclaims  liberty 
to  the  captives  (Isa.  lxi.  1) ;  and,  in  the  day  of  their  effectual 
calling,  he  actually  delivers  his  people  from  the  power  of 
Satan. — Col.  i.  13.  While  in  the  present  world,  indeed,  they 
are  exposed  to  the  assaults  of  this  adversary  (1  Pet.  v.  8); 
but  he  shall  never  regain  his  dominion  over  them,  and,  in 
due  time,  they  shall  be  completely  freed  from  his  tempta- 
tions, and  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  his  influence ;  for  the 
promise  is :  "  The  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet  shortly." — Rom.  xvi.  20. 

6.  From  the  evil  of  afflictions.  Christ  does  not  grant  to 
believers  an  entire  exemption  from  the  troubles  that  are 
common  to  men,  but  he  frees  them  from  all  the  penal  evil  of 
afflictions.  The  cup  of  their  affliction  may  be  large  and  deep, 
but  there  is  not  one  drop  of  judicial  wrath  mingled  in  it. 
Their  afflictions  are  designed  for  their  profit ;  and,  through 
the  divine  blessing,  they  are  rendered,  in  various  respects, 
highly  beneficial  to  them.  Hence  the  children  of  God  have 
often  acknowledged  that  it  was  good  for  them  to  have  been 
afflicted  (Ps.  cxix.  71) ;  and,  though  they  may  sometimes  be 
at  a  loss  to  perceive  how  their  trials  are  to  be  rendered  pro- 
fitable to  them,  yet  they  have  the  fullest  assurance  that  all 
things  shall  work  together  for  their  good — Rom.  viii.  28. 
See  also  Heb.  xii.  6-11;  2  Cor.  iv.  17. 

7.  From  the  sting  of  death.     As  death  means  the  dissolu- 


SECT.  1.]  OF  CHRISTIAN  LIBERTY.  20o 

tion  of  the  union  between  the  soul  and  the  body,  believers 
are  not  exempted  from  its  stroke. — Heb.  ix.  28  ;  Ps.  lxxxix. 
48.  Christ,  however,  delivers  his  people  from  death,  consi- 
dered as  the  effect  of  the  law-curse,  and  the  harbinger  of 
everlasting  destruction. — John  xi.  25,  26.  He  has  extracted 
the  sting  of  death,  and  rendered  it  powerless  to  do  his  people 
any  real  harm. — 1  Cor.  xv.  56.  Instead  of  doing  believers 
any  real  injury,  death  has  a  commission  to  confer  upon  them 
unspeakable  good.  It  is  the  termination  of  all  their  sorrows, 
their  release  from  warfare,  and  their  departure  to  be  with 
Christ.— Phil.  i.  21,  23. 

8.  From  the  victory  of  the  grave.  The  bodies  of  believers 
must  be  laid  in  the  grave,  and  see  corruption.  To  them, 
however,  the  grave  is  not  a  prison,  but  a  bed  of  rest;  and 
they  shall  not  always  remain  under  the  poAver  of  corruption, 
but  shall  be  raised  up,  glorious  and  immortal,  at  the  last 
day. — Job  xix.  26,  27.  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  is  become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept." — 1  Cor.  xv. 
20.  His  resurrection  is  the  pledge  and  earnest  of  the  resur- 
rection of  all  that  sleep  in  him.  In  due  time  the  promise 
will  be  fully  accomplished  :  "  I  will  ransom  them  from  the 
power  of  the  grave ;  I  will  redeem  them  from  death  (Hos. 
xiii.  14) ;  and  "  then  the  saying  shall  be  brought  to  pass, 
Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." — 1  Cor.  xv.  54. 

9.  From  everlasting  damnation.  The  full  punishment  due 
to  sin  is  never  inflicted  upon  any  in  this  life,  but  at  last  a  the 
wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell." — Ps.  ix.  17.  At  the  great 
day,  a  sentence  of  condemnation  shall  be  solemnly  pronounced 
upon  them,  and  they  shall  be  led  away  "  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." — Matt.  xxv.  41.  But 
believers  are  secured  against  coming  into  condemnation,  and 
are  delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come. — John  v.  24 ;  1  Thess. 
i.  10.  When  the  great  day  of  God's  wrath  is  come,  they 
shall  behold  and  see  the  reward  of  the  wicked ;  but  it  shall 
not  come  nigh  unto  them. 

10.  Believers  have  also  free  access  to  God.  They  have 
liberty  of  access  to  God  as  a  gracious  Father,  and  may  pour 
out  their  hearts,  and  vent  their  complaints  unto  him,  with 
filial  freedom.  "  In  Christ  Jesus  we  have  boldness  and  access 
with  confidence,  by  the  faith  of  him." — Eph.  iii.  12. 

11.  Believers  have  freedom  of  spirit  in  the  service  of  God. 
The  obedience  which  wicked  men  pay  to  God  is  like  that  of 
slaves  to  a  tyrant,  whom  they  hate,  and  whose  only  motive 
to  obedience  is  a  fear  of  punishment.  But  believers  are 
delivered  from  a  slavish  fear  of  wrath,  and  serve  God  from 
a  generous  principle  of  love,  and  with  a  williug  mind.  "  Where 


204  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XX. 

the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty." — 2  Cor.  iii.  17. 
See  also  Luke  i.  74,  75;  2  Cor.  v.  14;  1  John  iv.  18. 

The  liberty  which  has  now  been  described,  belonged  to 
believers  under  the  law,  as  well  as  under  the  present  dispen- 
sation ;  but,  under  the  New  Testament,  the  liberty  of  Chris- 
tians has  been  enlarged  in  several  particulars,  which  are  next 
to  be  briefly  noticed. 

1.  Christians  are  now  freed  from  the  yoke  of  the  cere- 
monial law.  The  Jewish  Church  was  kept  "  in  bondage 
under  the  elements  of  the  world"  (Gal.  iv.  3) ;  but  that  bur- 
densome yoke  is  not  imposed  on  the  Christian  Church. — 
Acts  xv.  10.  The  ancient  ceremonies  were  abrogated,  in 
point  of  obligation,  by  the  death  of  Christ ;  and  though,  for  a 
time,  the  use  of  them  was  indifferent,  yet,  upon  the  full  pro- 
mulgation of  the  gospel,  and  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
of  Jerusalem,  the  observance  of  them  became  unlawful ;  and 
the  Apostle  Paul  exhorted  Christians  to  "  stand  fast  in  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made  them  free,  and  not  be 
entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage." — Gal.  v.  1. 

2.  Christians  have  now  greater  boldness  of  access  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  The  Apostle  Paul  frequently  mentions 
liberty,  confidence,  and  boldness,  in  their  access  to  God,  as 
an  especial  privilege  of  believers  under  the  New  Testament, 
in  opposition  to  the  state  of  those  who  lived  under  the  Old. — 
See  Heb.  iv.  16,  x.  19;  1  John  iii.  21,  iv.  17,  v.  14. 

3.  Christians  enjoy  fuller  communications  of  the  free  Spirit 
of  God  than  were  ordinarily  granted  to  believers  under  the 
law.  The  Spirit  had,  no  doubt,  been  dispensed  to  the  Church 
under  the  Old  Testament ;  but  the  more  extensive  and 
copious  effusion  of  the  Spirit  was  reserved  to  New  Testament 
times.  Hence  the  Spirit  is  said  not  to  have  been  given 
before  that  Jesus  was  glorified. — John  vii.  39.  The  plenti- 
ful effusion  of  the  Spirit  was  frequently  foretold  as  the  great 
privilege  of  gospel  times. — Isa.  xliv.  3 ;  Joel  ii.  28,  29.  Ac- 
cordingly, upon  the  ascension  of  Christ,  and  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  dispensation,  the  extraordinary  and 
miraculous  gifts  of  the  Spirit  were  communicated,  not  only 
to  the  apostles,  but  often  to  common  believers;  and  the 
ordinary  gifts  and  gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit  are  still 
conferred  in  richer  abundance  than  under  the  former  dispen- 
sation. Hence  the  Apostle  Paul  represents  it  as  an  eminent 
part  of  the  glory  of  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  that  it 
is  "  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit." — 2  Cor.  iii.  8. 

How  excellent  is  that  liberty  we  have  been  describing  ! 
If  civil  liberty  be  highly  prized,  sure  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God  is  eminently  precious.     How  highly  are 


SECT.  2.]  OF  LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE.  205 

believers  indebted  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  obtained 
this  freedom  for  them  at  the  incalculable  price  of  his  own 
precious  blood !  Sure  their  hearts  should  overflow  with  gra- 
titude to  their  generous  Deliverer,  who  gave  his  own  life  a 
ransom  for  them.  Since  he  has  emancipated  them  from  the 
most,  degrading  servitude,  and  set  them  free  from  those  cruel 
masters  who  formerly  tyrannized  over  them,  ought  they  not 
to  take  upon  them  his  yoke,  which  is  easy,  and  his  burden, 
which  is  light  ?  Every  true  Christian  will  reckon  it  his  highest 
privilege,  as  well  as  his  incumbent  duty,  to  be  the  devoted 
servant  of  Christ,  whose  service  is  perfect  freedom. 

Section  II. — God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,10 
and  hath  left  it  free  from  the  doctrines  and  command- 
ments of  men  which  are  in  anything  contrary  to  his 
"Word,  or  beside  it,  in  matters  of  faith  or  worship.11  So 
that  to  believe  such  doctrines,  or  to  obey  such  command- 
ments out  of  conscience,  is  to  betray  true  liberty  of 
conscience ; 12  and  the  requiring  of  an  implicit  faith, 
and  an  absolute  and  blind  obedience,  is  to  destroy  liberty 
of  conscience  and  reason  also.13 

10  James  iv.  12.     Rom.  xiv.  4.  I  l3  Rom.  x.  17.     Rom.  xiv.  23.    Isa. 

11  Acts  iv.  19;  v.  29.     1  Cor.  vii.  23.  viii.   20.      Acts  xvii.  11.  John 

Matt,  xxiii.  8-10.     2  Cor.  i.  24.  |  iv.22.     Hos.  v.  11.      Rev.  xiii. 

Matt.  xv.  9.  12,  16, 17.    Jer.  viii.  9. 

i*  Col.  ii.  20,  22.  23.  Gal.  i.  10;  ii.  4, 5 ; 
r.l.  I 

EXPOSITION. 

In  this  section  the  doctrine  of  liberty  of  conscience  is  laid 
down  in  most  explicit  terms.  The  conscience,  in  all  matters 
of  faith  and  duty,  is  subject  to  the  authority  of  God  alone, 
and  entirely  free  from  all  subjection  to  the  traditions  and 
commandments  of  men.  To  believe  any  doctrine,  or  obey 
any  commandment,  contrary  to,  or  beside,  the  Word  of  God, 
out  of  submission  to  human  authority,  is  to  betray  true  liberty 
of  conscience.  And  be  the  power  and  authority  whose  it 
will — be  it  that  of  a  magistrate  or  a  minister — of  a  husband, 
a  master,  or  a  parent — that  would  require  an  implicit  faith 
and  an  absolute  blind  obedience,  it  would  destroy  liberty  of 
conscience. 

The  rights  of  conscience  have  been  frequently  invaded  by 
rulers,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  By  the  Church  of  Rome 
the  statements  of  our  Confession  are  directly  contradicted, 
both  in  doctrine  and  in  practice.  They  teach  that  the  Pope, 
and  the  bishops  in  their  own  dioceses,  may,  by  their  own 


206  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  [CHAP.  XX. 

authority,  enact  laws  which  bind  the  conscience,  and  which 
cannot  be  transgressed  without  incurring  the  same  penalties 
which  are  annexed  to  every  breach  of  the  divine  law.  And 
they  have  actually  imposed  many  articles  of  faith,  and  en- 
joined numberless  rites  and  ceremonies,  as  necessary  in  the 
worship  of  God,  which  have  no  foundation  in  Scripture ;  and 
they  require  implicit  faith  in  all  their  decrees,  and  a  blind 
obedience  to  all  their  commands.  Against  the  tyrannical 
usurpations  and  encroachments  of  that  Church  this  section 
is  principally  levelled. 

No  person  on  earth  can  have  authority  to  dictate  to  con- 
science ;  for  this  would  be  to  assume  a  prerogative  which 
belongs  to  none  but  the  supreme  Lord  and  Legislator. 
"  There  is  one  Lav/giver,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy." 
— James  iv.  12.  Such  a  power  was  prohibited  by  Jesus 
Christ  among  his  followers :  "  The  kings  of  the  Gentiles 
exercise  lordship  over  them,  but  ye  shall  not  be  so." — Luke 
xxii.  25.  It  was  disclaimed  by  the  inspired  apostles :  "  Not 
that  we  have  dominion  over  your  faith,"  said  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  "  but  are  helpers  of  your  joy." — 2  Cor.  i.  24. 

From  the  principles  laid  down  in  this  section,  it  manifestly 
follows,  that  a  right  of  private  judgment  about  matters  of 
religion  belongs  to  every  man,  and  ought  to  be  exercised  by 
every  Christian.  Christians  are  expressly  required  to  exa- 
mine and  prove  every  doctrine  by  the  unerring  rule  of  the 
Word  of  God. — Isa.  viii.  20;  1  John  iv.  1.  They  ought  to 
be  ready  to  render  a  reason  of  the  hope  which  is  in  them 
(1  Pet.  iii.  15)  ;  and  this  none  can  do  who  receive  the  doc- 
trines and  commandments  of  men  with  implicit  faith  and 
blind  obedience.  Whatsoever  is  not  done  in  faith,  nor  ac- 
companied with  a  personal  persuasion  of  the  obligation  or 
lawfulness  of  it  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  pronounced  to  be 
sin. — Rom.  xiv.  23. 
j  It  follows  no  less  clearly,  from  the  principles  here  laid 
[  down,  that  when  lawful  superiors  command  what  is  contrary 
to  the  Word  of  God,  or  beside  it,  in  matters  of  faith  and 
worship,  their  commands  do  not  bind  the  conscience.  The 
obedience  which  the  Scriptures  command  us  to  render  to  law- 
ful superiors — whether  parents,  or  husbands,  or  magistrates — 
is  not  unlimited ;  there  are  cases  in  which  disobedience  be- 
comes a  duty.  No  one  doubts  that  the  precept,  "  Children, 
obey  your  parents  in  all  things,"  is  a  command  to  obey 
them  only  in  the  exercise  of  their  rightful  parental  authority, 
and  imposes  no  obligation  to  implicit  and  passive  obedience. 
The  case  is  equally  plain  with  regard  to  the  command, 
"  Wives  submit  to  your  own  husbands."     And  it  cannot  be 


SECT.  2.]  OF  LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE.  207 

questioned  that  the  obedience  due  to  magistrates  is  also 
limited.  The  precept,  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the 
higher  powers,"  must  be  understood  as  a  command  to  obey 
magistrates  only  in  the  exercise  of  their  rightful  authority, 
and  in  all  things  lawful.  The  same  inspired  teachers  who 
enjoined  in  such  general  terms  obedience  to  rulers,  them- 
selves uniformly  and  openly  disobeyed  them  whenever  their 
commands  were  inconsistent  with  other  and  higher  obliga- 
tions. "  We  tfught  to  obey  God  rather  than  men"  (Acts  v.  29), 
was  the  principle  which  they  avowed,  and  on  which  they 
acted.  When  the  apostles  were  charged  by  the  Jewish 
Council  to  speak  no  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  their  unhesi- 
tating answer  was  :  "  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of 
God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye. 
For  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and 
heard." — Acts  iv.  19, 20.  No  command  to  do  anything  morally 
wrong  can  be  binding  on  the  conscience. 

From  the  principles  here  laid  down,  some  have  inferred 
that  civil  authority  is  wholly  inapplicable  to  matters  of  re- 
ligion. Nothing,  however,  can  be  farther  from  the  design 
of  the  Confession  than  to  countenance  this  notion.  That  i  (/ 
there  is  a  lawful  exercise  of  civil  power  about  religious  mat-  1 
ters  the  compilers  of  the  Confession  clearly  teach,  in  the 
fourth  section  of  this  chapter,  and  also  in  chap,  xxiii.  And 
as  it  was  not  their  design,  in  this  section,  to  condemn  this 
exercise  of  civil  authority,  so  no  such  doctrine  can  justly  be 
inferred  from  the  words ;  for,  "  if  they  condemn  all  exercise 
of  civil  authority,''  to  use  the  language  of  Dr  M'Crie,  "  then 
they  condemn  also  all  exercise  of  every  other  species  of 
human  authority  about  these  things,  whether  ecclesiastical, 
parental,  &c.  Is  it  not  equally  true,  that  God  hath  left  the 
conscience  '  free  from  the  doctrines  and  commandments  of 
men,  which  are  in  anything  contrary  to  his  Word,  or  beside 
it,  in  matters  of  faith  or  worship,'  whether  these  be  the  doc- 
trines and  commandments  of  ministers  or  magistrates,  of 
masters  or  parents  ?  Is  not  '  an  implicit  faith,'  or  '  an  ab- 
solute and  blind  obedience,'  unreasonable  and  sinful,  whether 
it  be  yielded  to  synods  or  parliaments  ?  The  design  of  the 
words  is,  to  teach  the  subordination  of  all  human  power  to  ! 
the  sovereignty  and  laws  of  God,  particularly  in  matters  of 
faith  and  worship.  Nay,  they  seem  in  that  passage  to  be 
more  immediately  levelled  against  invasions  by  Church  au- 
thority, which  have  been  fully  as  frequent  and  pernicious  in 
religion  as  those  of  civil  rulers ;  such  as  the  assumed  lordship 
of  popes,  councils,  prelates,  and  convocations,  in  devising 
new  articles   of  faith,  decreeing  and  imposing  unscriptural 


208  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [ CHAP.  XX. 

rights  and  ceremonies,  canons,  &c,  here  called  f  the  doctrines 
and  commandments  of  men,'  in  contradistinction  from  divine 
institutions  ;  as  the  traditions  and  superstitions  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  superadded  to  the  divine  law,  are  called  by 
our  Lord.  If  civil  rulers  concur  in  these  impositions,  or  if 
they  shall  attempt  the  like  by  their  own  sole  authority,  and 
the  claim  of  an  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  this  doctrine  equally 
condemns  their  tyranny,  and  teaches,  that  no  error,  will- 
worship,  or  any  species  of  false  religion,  by  whomsoever 
commanded  in  Churches  or  States,  can  lay  any  obligation  on 
conscience,  which  is  immediately  subject  to  God  alone.  But 
no  such  thing  is  taught,  as  that  men's  consciences  are  set  free 

:  from  obedience  to  any  human  authority,  when  acting  in  entire 
consistency  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  enjoining  nothing  be- 
side it,  or  beyond  its  own  proper  limits ;  which  authority  of 

v  any  kind  may  certainly  do."* 

Section  III. — They  who,  upon  pretence  of  Christian 
liberty,  do  practise  any  sin,  or  cherish  any  lust,  do 
thereby  destroy  the  end  of  Christian  liberty ;  which  is, 
that,  being  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of  our  enemies, 
we  might  serve  the  Lord  without  fear,  in  holiness,  and 
righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life.14 

Section  IV. — And  because  the  powers  which  God 
hath  ordained,  and  the  liberty  which  Christ  hath  pur- 
chased, are  not  intended  by  God  to  destroy,  but  mutually 
to  uphold  and  preserve  one  another ;  they  who,  upon 
pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  shall  oppose  any  lawful 
power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  it,  whether  it  be  civil  or 
ecclesiastical,  resist  the  ordinance  of  God.15  And  for 
their  publishing  of  such  opinions,  or  maintaining  of  such 
practices,  as  are  contrary  to  the  light  of  nature,  or  to  the 
known  principles  of  Christianity,  whether  concerning 
faith,  worship,  or  conversation ;  or  to  the  power  of 
godliness;  or  such  erroneous  opinions  or  practices,  as 
either  in  their  own  nature,  or  in  the  manner  of  publish- 
ing or  maintaining  them,  are  destructive  to  the  external 
peace  and  order  which  Christ  hath  established  in  the 
Church ;  they  may  lawfully  be  called  to  account,  and 

»*  Gal.  v.  13.    1  Pet.  ii.  16.    2  Pet.  I  1S  Matt.  xii.  25.      1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14, 16. 
ii.  19.    John  viii.  34.    Luke  i.  Rom.  xiii.  1-8.    Heb.  xiii.  17. 

74, 75.  I 

*  M'Crie's  Statement,  pp.  100,  101. 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF    LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE.  209 

proceeded  against  by  the  censures  of  the  Church,16  and 
by  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate.17 


"  Rom.  i.  32.      1  Cor.  v.  1,5,  11,  13. 

2  John  10,  11.    2  Thess.  iii.  14. 

1  Tim.  vi.  3-5.    Tit.  i.   10,  11, 

13;  iii.  10.      Matt,  xviii.  15-17. 

1  Tim.  i.  19,  20.     Rev.  ii.  2,  14, 

15,  20.     Rev.  iii.  9. 
1T  Deut.  xiii.  6-12.     Rom.  xiii.  3,  4. 


2  John  10,  11.  Ezra  vii.  23, 
25-28.  Rev.  xvii.  12,  16,  17. 
Neh.  xiii.  15,  17,  21,  22,25,  30. 
2  Kings  xxiii.  5,  6,  9,  20,  21. 
2  Chron.  xxxiv.  33;  xv.  12,  13, 
16.  Dan.  iii.  29.  1  Tim.  ii.  2. 
Isa.  xlix.  23.     Zech.  xiii.  2,  3. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  liberty  pleaded  for  in  our  Confession  is  not  absolute 
and  uncontrollable.  To  assert  that  men  have  a  right  to  think 
and  act  as  they  please,  without  respect  to  the  moral  law,  and 
without  being  responsible  to  God,  would  be  atheistical.  And, 
if  men  are  considered  as  socially  united,  and  as  placed  under 
government,  their  natural  rights,  in  religious  as  well  as  in 
civil  things,  must  be  liable  to  restraint  and  regulations,  so  far 
as  the  interests  and  ends  of  society  require.  Accordingly, 
the  Confession,  in  the  above  sections,  proceeds  to  guard  the 
doctrine  of  liberty  of  conscience  against  abuse,  first,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  authority  of  God  in  his  law  •  and,  secondly,  in 
reference  to  the  authorities  on  earth,  civil  and  ecclesiastical. 
With  respect  to  the  former,  it  declares,  that  "  they  who,  upon 
pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  do  practise  any  sin,  or  cherish 
any  lust,  do  thereby  destroy  the  end  of  Christian  liberty." 
God  has  not  liberated  the  conscience  from  the  obligation  of 
his  own  law  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  requires  every  one  to  yield 
implicit  and  prompt  obedience  to  all  things  whatsoever  he 
has  commanded.  To  plead  for  a  liberty  to  practise  any 
known  sin,  is  to  plead  for  licentiousness ;  and  for  persons  to 
indulge  themselves  in  any  corrupt  affections  and  practices, 
under  a  pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  is  to  "  use  their  liberty 
for  an  occasion  to  the  flesh."  With  respect  to  the  latter, 
the  Confession  mentions  certain  things  for  which  persons  of 
a  certain  description  may  be  proceeded  against,  both  by  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities.  It  is  to  be  observed,  I 
however,  that  the  intention  of  this  section  is  not  to  lay  down 
the  extent  Of  the  provinces  of  these  powers,  but  only  to  re- 
move the  plea  of  conscience ;  and  it  ought  to  be  understood, 
in  consistency  with  their  acting  each  in  its  own  province, 
without  the  one  interfering  with  the  causes  which  come 
under  the  cognizance  of  the  other.  Although  civil  rulers 
may  restrain,  and,  when  occasion  requires,  may  punish  the 
more  flagrant  violations  of  the  first  table  of  the  moral  law, 
such  as  blasphemy,  the  publishing  of  blasphemous  opinions, 
and  the  open  and  gross  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  ;  yet  they 
o 


210  CONFESSION  OF  FAITII,  [CHAP.  XX* 

are  to  repress  these  evils,  not  formally  as  sins,  which  is  the 
prerogative  of  God,  nor  as  scandals,  in  which  light  they  come 
under  the  cognizance  of  the  Church,  but  as  crimes  and  inju- 
ries done  to  society. 
J  All  sound  Presbyterians  disclaim  all  intolerant  or  compul- 
sory measures  with  regard  to  matters  purely  religious.  They 
maintain  that  no  man  should  be  punished  or  molested  on 
account  of  his  religious  opinions  or  observances,  provided 
there  is  nothing  in  these  hurtful  to  the  general  interests  of 
society,  or  dangerous  to  the  lawful  institutions  of  the  coun- 
try in  which  he  lives.  The  section  now  under  consideration, 
however,  has  sometimes  been  represented  as  arming  the  civil 
magistrate  with  a  power  to  punish  good  and  peaceable  sub- 
jects purely  on  account  of  their  religious  opinions  and  prac- 
tices, or  as  favourable  to  persecution  for  conscience'  sake. 
In  vindicating  the  Confession  from  this  serious  charge,  we 
shall  avail  ourselves  of  the  judicious  remarks  of  Dr  M'Crie. 
"  The  design  of  section  fourth,"  says  that  eminent  author, 
"  is  to  guard  against  the  abuse  of  the  doctrine"  of  liberty  of 
conscience  "  in  reference  to  public  authority.  *  And  because 
the  powers  which  God  hath  ordained,  and  the  liberty  which 
Christ  hath  purchased,  are  not  intended  by  God  to  destroy, 
but  mutually  to  uphold  and  preserve  one  another,  they  who, 
upon  pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  shall  oppose  any  lawful 
power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  it,  whether  it  be  civil  or 
ecclesiastical,  resist  the  ordinance  of  God.'  He  who  is  the 
Lord  of  the  conscience  has  also  instituted  the  authorities  in 
Church  and  State;  and  it  would  be  in  the  highest  degree 
absurd  to  suppose  that  he  has  planted  in  the  breast  of  every 
individual  a  power  to  resist,  counteract,  and  nullify  his  own 
ordinances.  When  public  and  private  claims  interfere  and 
clash,  the  latter  must  give  way  to  the  former ;  and  when  any 
lawful  authority  is  proceeding  lawfully  within  its  line  of 
duty,  it  must  be  understood  as  possessing  a  rightful  power 
to  remove  out  of  the  way  everything  which  necessarily  ob- 
structs its  progress.  The  Confession  proceeds,  accordingly, 
to  state  :  'And  for  their  publishing  of  such  opinions,  or  main- 
taining of  such  practices,  as  are  contrary  to  the  light  of 
nature,  or  to  the  known  principles  of  Christianity,  whether 
concerning  faith,  worship,  or  conversation,  or  to  the  power  of 
godliness;  or  such  erroneous  opinions  or  practices  as,  either 
in  their  own  nature  or  in  the  manner  of  publishing  and 
maintaining  them,  are  destructive  to  the  external  peace  and 
order  which  Christ  hath  established  in  the  Church ;  they 
may  lawfully  be  called  to  account,  and  proceeded  against  by 
the  censures  of  the  Church,  and  by  the  power  of  the  civil 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE.  211 

magistrate.'  Now,  this  does  not  say  that  all  who  publish 
such  opinions,  and  maintain  such  practices  as  are  mentioned, 
may  be  proceeded  against,  or  punished  (if  the  substitution  of 
this  word  shall  be  insisted  for)  by  the  civil  magistrate;  nor 
does  it  say  that  any  good  and  peaceable  subject  shall  be 
made  liable  to  this  process  simply  on  the  ground  of  religious 
opinions  published,  and  practices  maintained  by  him.  For, 
in  the  Jim  place,  persons  of  a  particular  character  are  spoken 
of  in  this  paragraph,  and  these  are  very  different  from  good 
and  peaceable  subjects.  They  are  described  in  the  former 
sentence  as  '  they  who  oj>pose  lawful  power,  or  the  lawful 
exercise  of  it,'  and  '  resist  the  ordinance  of  God.'  The  same 
persons  are  spoken  of  in  the  sentence  under  consideration,  as 
appears  from  the  copulative  and  the  relative.  It  is  not  said, 
'  Any  one  for  publishing,'  &c,  but,  '  they  who  oppose  any  law- 
ful power,'  &c, i  for  their  publishing,'  &c.  In  the  second  place, 
this  sentence  specifies  some  of  the  ways  in  which  these  per- 
sons may  become  chargeable  with  the  opposition  mentioned, 
and  consecruently  '  may  be  called  to  account ;'  but  it  does  not 
assert  that  even  they  must  or  ought  to  be  prosecuted  for 
every  avowed  opinion  or  practice  of  the  kind  referred  to. 
All  that  it  necessarily  implies  is,  that  they  may  be  found 
opposing  lawful  powers,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  them  in  the 
things  specified ;  and  that  they  are  not  entitled  to  plead  a 
general  irresponsibility  in  matters  of  that  kind.  Notwith- 
standing such  a  plea,  '  they  may  be  called  to  account,  and 
proceeded  against.'  For,  be  it  observed,  it  is  not  the  design 
of  this  paragraph  to  state  the  objects  of  Church  censure  or 
-civil  prosecution ;  its  proper  and  professed  object  is  to  inter- 
pose a  check  on  the  abuse  of  liberty  of  conscience,  as  ope- 
rating to  the  prejudice  of  just  and  lawful  authority.  It  is 
not  sin  as  sin,  but  as  scandal,  or  injurious  to  the  spiritual 
interests  of  Christians,  that  is  the  proper  object  of  Church 
censure ;  and  it  is  not  for  sins  as  such,  but  for  crimes,  that 
persons  become  liable  to  punishment  by  magistrates.  The 
compilers  of  the  Confession  were  quite  aware  of  these  dis- 
tinctions, which  were  then  common.  Some  think  that  if  the 
process  of  the  magistrate  had  been  limited  to  offences  '  con- 
trary to  the  light  of  nature,'  it  would  have  been  perfectly 
justifiable;  but  the  truth  is,  that  it  would  have  been  so  only 
on  the  interpretation  now  given.  To  render  an  action  the 
proper  object  of  magistratical  punishment,  it  is  not  enough 
that  it  be  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  whether  natural  or 
revealed  ;  it  must,  in  one  way  or  another,  strike  against  the 
public  good  of  society.  He  who  '  provides  not  for  his  own, 
especially  those  of  his  own  house,'  sins  against  '  the  light  of 


212  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

nature,'  as  also  does  he  who  is  '  a  lover  of  pleasures  more 
than  of  God ;'  but  there  are  few  who  will  plead  that  magi- 
strates are  bound  to  proceed  against,  and  punish  every  idler 
and  belly-god.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  opinions  and 
practices  '  contrary  to  the  known  principles  of  Christianity,' 
or  grafted  upon  them,  which,  either  in  their  own  nature,  or 
from  the  circumstances  with  which  they  may  be  clothed, 
may  prove  so  injurious  to  the  welfare  of  society  in  general, 
or  of  particular  nations,  or  of  their  just  proceedings,  or  of 
lawful  institutions  established  in  them,  as  to  subject  their 
publishers  and  maintainors  to  warrantable  coercion  and  pu- 
nishment. As  one  point  to  which  these  may  relate,  I  may 
mention  the  external  observance  and  sanctification  of  the 
Lord's-day,  which  can  be  known  only  from  '  the  principles 
of  Christianity,'  and  is  connected  with  all  the  particulars 
specified  by  the  Confession, '  faith,  worship,  conversation,  the 
power  of  godliness,  and  the  external  order  and  peace  of  the 
Church.'  That  many  other  instances  of  a  similar  description 
can  be  produced,  will  be  denied  by  no  sober-thinking  person 
who  is  well  accuiainted  with  Popish  tenets  and  practices,  and 
with  those  which  prevailed  among  the  English  sectaries 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Westminster  Assembly;  and  he 
who  does  not  deny  this,  cannot  be  entitled,  I  should  think, 
upon  any  principles  of  fair  construction,  to  fix  the  stigma  of 
persecution  on  the  passage  in  question."* 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP,  AND  THE  SABBATH-DAY. 

Section  I. — The  light  of  nature  showeth  that  there 
is  a  God,  who  hath  lordship  and  sovereignty  over  all ; 
is  good,  and  doeth  good  unto  all ;  and  is,  therefore,  to  be 
feared,  loved,  praised,  called  upon,  trusted  in,  and  served, 
with  all  the  heart,  and  with  all  the  soul,  and  with  all 
the  might.1  But  the  acceptable  way  of  worshipping  the 
true  God  is  instituted  by  himself,  and  so  limited  by  his 
own  revealed  will,  that  he  may  not  be  worshipped  ac- 
cording to  the  imaginations  and  devices  of  men,  or  the 

i  Rom.  i.  20.     Acts  xvii.  24.      Ps.  I  xviii.  3.  Rom.  x.  12.   Ps.  lxii  8. 

cxix.  68.  Jer.  x.  7.  Ps.  xxxi.  23;  |  Josh.  xxiv.  14.     Mark  xii.  33. 

*  M'Crie's  Appendix  to  Discourses  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church,  pp.  134-137. 


SECT.  1.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  213 

suggestions  of  Satan,  under  any  visible  representation, 
or  any  other  way  not  prescribed  in  the  Holy  Scripture.2 

3  Deut  xii.  32.    Matt.  xv.  9.      Acts  I  xv.  1-20.    Exod.  xx.  4-6 ;  Col. 

xvii.  25.    Matt.  iv.  9,  10.  Deut.  |  ii.  23. 

EXPOSITION. 

Religious  worship  consists  in  that  homage  and  honour 
which  we  give  to  God,  as  a  being  of  infinite  perfection ; 
whereby  we  profess  our  subjection  to,  and  confidence  in  him, 
as  our  chief  good  and  only  happiness.  It  may  be  viewed  as 
either  internal  or  external;  the  former  consisting  in  that 
inward  homage  which  we  owe  to  God,  such  as  loving,  be- 
lieving, fearing,  trusting  in  him,  and  other  elicit  acts  of  the 
mind ;  the  latter  consisting  in  the  outward  expression  of  that 
homage,  by  the  observance  of  his  instituted  ordinances.  Con- 
cerning the  external  worship  of  God,  our  Confession  affirms,  V 
in  the  first  place,  that  God  can  be  worshipped  acceptably  only 
in  the  way  of  his  own  appointment.  As  God  is  the  sole 
object  of  religious  worship,  so  it  is  his  prerogative  to  pre- 
scribe the  mode  of  it.  Divine  institution  must,  therefore, 
be  our  rule  of  worship ;  and  whatever  may  be  imagined  to 
be  useful  and  decent,  must  be  examined  and  determined  by 
this  rule.  It  is  not  left  to  human  prudence  to  make  any 
alterations  in,  or  additions  to,  God's  own  appointments. 
"  What  thing  soever  I  command  you,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  ob- 
serve to  do  it ;  thou  shalt  not  add  thereto,  nor  diminish  from 
it." — Deut.  xii.  32.  To  introduce  into  the  worship  of  God 
what  may  be  deemed  significant  ceremonies,  under  the  pre- 
text of  beautifying  the  worship,  and  exciting  the  devotion 
of  the  worshippers,  is  to  be  guilty  of  superstition  and  will- 
worship.  In  the  second  place,  our  Confession  particularly  con-v 
demns  the  worshipping  of  God  "  under  any  visible  represen- ' 
tation."  The  worshipping  of  God  in  or  by  images  is  one  of 
the  worst  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  God  is  a 
spiritual,  invisible,  and  incomprehensible  being,  and  cannot, 
therefore,  be  represented  by  any  corporeal  likeness  or  figure. 
"  To  whom  will  ye  liken  me,  or  shall  I  be  equal  ?  saith  the 
Holy  One." — Isa.  ad.  25.  "  We  ought  not  to  think  that  the 
Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art 
and  man's  device." — Acts  xvii.  29.  The  Israelites  were  ex- 
pressly forbidden  to  make  any  image  of  God.  In  Deut.  iv. 
15,  16,  Moses  insists  that  "  they  saw  no  manner  of  similitude 
on  the  day  that  the  Lord  spake  to  them  in  Horeb,  lest  they 
should  corrupt  themselves,  and  make  them  a  graven  image." 
And,  therefore,  he  charges  them  (ver.  23)  "to  take  heed  lest 
they  should  forget  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  their  God,  and 


214  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XXI. 

make  them  a  graven  image."  The  Scripture  forbids  the 
worshipping  of  God  by  images,  although  they  may  not  be 
intended  as  proper  similitudes,  but  only  as  emblematical 
representations  of  God.  Every  visible  form  which  is  de- 
signed to  recall  God  to  our  thoughts,  and  to  excite  our  devo- 
tions, and  before  which  we  perform  our  religious  offices,  is 
expressly  prohibited  in  the  second  commandment. — Exod. 
xx.  4.  The  Church  of  Rome,  being  sensible  that  this  pre- 
cept condemns  their  doctrine  and  practice,  make  it  an  appen- 
dage to  the  first  commandment,  and  leave  it  out  in  their 
catechism  and  books  of  devotion.  In  the  third  place,  our  Con- 
fession not  only  condemns  the  worshipping  of  God  by  images, 
but  also  the  worshipping  him  "  in  any  other  way  not  pre- 
scribed in  the  Holy  Scripture."  Not  only  has  the  Church  of 
Rome  corrupted  the  worship  of  God  by  a  multitude  of  insig- 
nificant ceremonies,  but  even  some  Protestant  Churches  retain 
many  of  the  usages  of  Popery,  and  enjoin  the  wearing  of  par- 
ticular vestments  by  the  ministers  of  religion,  the  observation 
of  numerous  festival  days,  the  erection  of  altars  in  churches, 
the  sign  of  the  cross  in  baptism,  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  kneeling  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  These  practices  we  justly 
reckon  superstitious,  because  there  is  no  scriptural  warrant 
for  them,  and  they  are  the  inventions  of  men.  It  were  well 
if  those  who  enjoin  and  those  who  observe  them  would  con- 
sider the  words  of  God  concerning  the  Jews :  "  In  vain  do 
they  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments 
of  men." — Matt.  xv.  9. 

Section  II. — Religious  worship  is  o  he  given  to  God, 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  and  to  him  alone  : 3 
not  to  angels,  saints,  or  any  other  creature  : 4  and,  since 
the  fall,  not  without  a  Mediator ;  nor  in  the  mediation 
of  any  other  but  of  Christ  alone.5 

10.     Rom. 


5  Matt.  iv.  10.     John   v.  23.     2  Cor.  J 

1  *  Col.  ii.   18.     Rev.  xix. 

xiii.  14. 

i.  25. 

5  John  xiv.  6.    1  Tim.  ii.  5. 

Eph.  ii.  18.     Col.  iii.  17. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  this  section  the  object  of  religious  worship  is  defined. 

1.  Our  Confession  affirms  that  religious  worship  is  to  be 
given  to  God  alone.  While  the  first  commandment  forbids 
us  to  have  any  other  gods  before  him,  it  requires  us  to  wor- 
ship him  alone.  Most  explicit,  too,  was  the  answer  which 
Christ  gave  to  Satan,  when  he  would  have  our  Saviour  to  fall 
down  and  worship  him.  "  It  is  written,"  he  replied,  "  Thou 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 


SECT.   2.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  215 

serve." — Matt.  iv.  10.  And  when  the  Apostle  John  attempted 
to  offer  religions  worship  to  an  angel,  either  through  surprise, 
or  through  a  mistake  of  him  for  Jesus  Christ,  the  angel  said 
unto  him,  "See  thou  do  it  not;  worship  God"  (Rev.  xxii. 
8,  9);  thereby  intimating  that  God  alone  is  to  be  worshipped. 

There  can  be  only  one  true  God,  but  there  are  three  dis- 
tinct persons  in  the  Godhead ;  these  three  persons  are  desig- 
nated the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  religious 
worship  is  due  to  each  of  these  persons.  Although  Chris- 
tians usually  address  their  supplications  to  the  Father,  in  the 
name  of  the  Son,  and  by  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
yet  divine  worship  may  be  performed  to  any  of  the  adorable 
Three  immediately.  And  it  must  ever  be  remembered,  that 
when  any  one  of  the  persons  of  the  Godhead  is  immediately 
addressed,  the  other  two  are  included.  These  divine  persons 
are  only  one  object  of  worship,  because  they  are  only  one 
Being — one  God. 

2.  In  opposition  to  the  Papists,  who  maintain,  that  not 
only  God,  but  good  angels  and  departed  saints,  being  cano- 
nized by  the  Pope,  ought  to  be  worshipped,  even  in  a  religious 
manner,  our  Confession  affirms  that  neither  angels,  nor  saints, 
nor  any  other  creature,  ought  to  receive  religious  worship. 
The  worshipping  of  angels  is  expressly  forbidden  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  (Col.  ii.  18):  "  Let  no  man  beguile  you  of  your 
reward,  in  a  voluntary  humility  and  worshipping  of  angels." 
And  when  the  Apostle  John  was  going  to  worship  the  angel, 
he  absolutely  refused  it,  and  ordered  him  to  direct  his  wor- 
ship to  God  himself :  "  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him  ;  and 
he  said  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not :  I  am  thy  fellow- 
servant;  worship  God." — Rev.  xix.  10.  Papists  are  likewise 
guilty  of  gross  idolatry,  in  worshipping  saints  departed, 
especially  the  Virgin  Mary.  To  the  saints  they  pray,  make 
vows,  swear  by  them,  consecrate  altars  and  temples  to 
them,  offer  incense,  and,  in  short,  render  to  them  all  the 
honours  which  are  paid  to  God  himself.  They,  no  doubt, 
pretend  that  the  worship  which  they  give  to  the  saints  is  not 
precisely  the  same  in  kind  and  degree  with  that  which  they 
give  to  God  ;  but,  however  they  may  distinguish  in  theory, 
the  greater  part  make  no  distinction  in  practice.  To  render 
any  kind  of  religious  worship  to  departed  saints  cannot  be 
vindicated  by  Scripture.  Christians  are  desired  to  remember 
them  that  had  the  rule  over  them  (Heb.  xiii.  17),  but  no  in- 
timation is  given  of  worshipping  them.  Several  of  the 
apostles  and  first  Christians,  particularly  James  the  Great  and 
Stephen,  had  suffered  martyrdom  when  the  Epistles  were 
written;  but  no  mention  is  made  of  offering  prayers  to  them. 


216 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £CHAP.  XXI. 


The  invocation  of  saints  implies  either  that  they  are  every- 
where, or  that  they  know  all  things  ;  hut  omnipresence  and 
omniscience  are  divine  perfections,  incommunicable  to  any 
creature. 

Our  Confession  condemns  the  worshipping  not  only  of  angels 
and  saints,  but  also  of  "any  other  creature."  And  Papists 
have  a  multiplicity  of  objects  of  worship  besides  those 
here  specified.  They  not  only  worship  departed  saints  them- 
y  selves,  but  even  their  relics.  The  Council  of  Trent  authorised 
the  adoration  of  relics ;  and  they  continue  in  high  esteem 
among  the  Papists  to  the  present  day.  But  as  God  effectually 
guarded  against  the  superstition  into  which  the  Jews  might 
have  fallen  with  respect  to  the  remains  of  Moses,  by  taking 
care  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  such  a  manner  that 
"no  man  knew  of  his  sepulchre"  (Dent,  xxxiv.  6);  so  this 
certainly  justifies  us  in  doing  no  further  honour  to  the  bodies 
of  saints  than  merely  interring  them.  We  know  that  the  early 
Christians  took  no  further  care  about  Stephen's  body  than  to 
bury  it  with  decency. — Acts  viii.  2.  And  as  the  worshipping 
of  relics  is  directly  contrary  to  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  so  it  is  utterly  irreconcilable  with  common  sense. 
It  was  also  decreed  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  that  "due  honour 
and  veneration  "  be  given  to  the  images  of  Christ,  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  other  saints.*  Papists,  accordingly,  bow 
down  to  images,  kiss  them,  offer  incense,  and  pray  to  them. 
They  may  tell  us  that  they  do  not  terminate  their  worship  on 
the  image  itself,  but  worship  God  in  and  by  it.  The  same  thing 
might  have  been  said  both  by  enlightened  heathens  and  by  the 
Jews,  yet  this  did  not  exempt  them  from  the  charge  of  ido- 
latry. The  Israelites  professed  to  worship  Jehovah  by  the 
golden  calf  (Exod.  xxxii.  5) ;  and  the  calves  set  up  at  Dan 
and  Bethel,  by  Jeroboam,  were  intended  only  as  means 
whereby  to  worship  the  true  God. — 1  Kings  xii.  26.  Not 
only  the  worshipping  of  images  themselves,  but  the  use  of 
them  in  worship,  even  when  the  true  God  is  worshipped  in 
and  by  them,  is  called  idolatry  in  Scripture. 

This  section  likewise  refers  to  the  medium  by  which  accep- 
table worship  must  be  offered  to  God.  In  the  state  of  inno- 
cence man  had  liberty  of  access  to  God  at  all  times,  and 
needed  none  to  mediate  between  him  and  his  Creator ;  but, 
since  the  fall,  no  acceptable  worship  can  be  given  to  God 
without  a  mediator.  And,  in  opposition  to  Papists,  who 
maintain  that  angels,  departed  saints,  and  chiefly  the  Virgin 
Mary,  are  mediators  and  intercessors  between  God  and  man, 
our  Confession  affirms,  that  there  is  no  other  mediator  but 
*  Con.  Tiid.,  Sess.  25. 


SECT.  3."]  OP  RELIGIOUS  WORSniP.  21 7 

Christ  alone.  The  Scripture  expressly  assures  us  that  "  there 
is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus." — 1  Tim.  ii.  5.  Christ  declares  of  himself, 
"  I  am  the  way;  no  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me" 
(John  xiv.  6);  and  "  by  him  we  have  access  to  the  Father." — 
Eph.  ii.  18.  Papists  grant  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  alone 
mediator  of  redemption  ;  but  they  join  angels  and  saints  with 
him  as  mediators  of  intercession.  On  this  point,  indeed,  they 
are  not  agreed  among  themselves.  Some  hold  that,  along 
with  our  now  glorified  Mediator,  the  holy  angels  and  de- 
parted saints  intercede  with  God  for  us.  Others  hold  that  they 
only  act  as  mediators  between  Christ  and  us.  The  Scripture, 
however,  gives  no  warrant  for  these  distinctions.  It  repre- 
sents the  intercession  of  Christ  as  founded  upon  the  invalu- 
able merit  of  his  atoning  sacrifice.  He  who  is  our  Advocate 
with  the  Father  is  also  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. — 1  John 
ii.  1, 2.  He  is  Mediator  of  intercession,  because  he  is  Me- 
diator of  redemption;  and  upon  this  account  his  intercession 
is  effectual.  Glorified  saints  are  indebted  to  free  grace  for 
their  own  admission  into  heaven,  and  they  have  no  merit  to 
apply  to  others.  To  solicit  their  intercession  supposes  that 
they  hear  our  prayers  and  are  acquainted  with  our  circum- 
stances; but  this  is  a  gratuitous  assumption.  To  employ 
them  to  intercede  for  us  with  God,  is  highly  derogatory  to 
the  honour  of  Christ;  for  it  implies  that  he  is  either  un- 
mindful of  his  office,  or  that  he  has  not  interest  enough  to 
obtain  from  God  the  blessings  we  need.  To  employ  them  to 
intercede  for  us  with  Christ  himself  is  also  dishonouring  to 
him ;  for  it  must  imply,  that  they  are  more  disposed  "  to  sym- 
pathize with  us  than  our  merciful  High  Priest,  who  is  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  and  was,  in  all  points,  tempted 
like  as  we  are."  While  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
upon  this  subject  degrades  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  it  invests 
departed  saints  with  the  honours  and  attributes  of  Deity.  It 
must  import  that  they  are  omnipresent  and  omniscient;  for 
how  could  the  Virgin  Mary,  for  example,  otherwise  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  prayers  which  are  addressed  to  her  at  the 
same  time  in  ten  thousand  places,  and,  it  may  be,  by  millions 
of  individuals  ?  Protestants,  therefore,  with  good  reason,  re- 
ject the  notion  of  angelical  and  human  intercessors,  and  rely  \ 
solely  on  the  intercession  of  that  glorious  Mediator  whom 
the  Father  always  heareth. 

Section  III Prayer  with  thanksgiving,  being  one 

special  part  of  religious  worship,6  is  by  God  required  of 

«  Phil.  iv.  6. 


218  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

all  men ; 7  and,  that  it  may  be  accepted,  it  is  to  be  made 
in  the  name  of  the  Son,8  by  the  help  of  his  Spirit,9  accord- 
ing to  his  will,10  with  understanding,  reverence,  humility, 
fervency,  faith,  love,  and  perseverance ;  u  and,  if  vocal, 
in  a  known  tongue.12 

Section  IV. — Prayer  is  to  be  made  for  things  lawful,13 
and  for  all  sorts  of  men  living,  or  that  shall  live  here- 
after ;  u  but  not  for  the  dead,15  nor  for  those  of  whom  it 
may  be  known  that  they  have  sinned  the  sin  unto 
death.16 

»  Ps.  lxv.  2.  I  12  1  Cor.  xiv.  14. 

»  John  xiv.  13,  14.     1  Pet.  ii.  5.  "  1  John  v.  14. 

a  Rom.  viii.  26.       10  1  John  v.  14.     |  "  1    Tim.   ii.   1,  2.     John  xvii.   20. 
11  Ps.  xlvii.  7.     Eccl.  v.   1,  2.     Heb.  I  2  Sam.  vii.  29.     Ruth  iv.  12. 

xii.  28.    Gen.  xviii.  2".    James    ls  2  Sam.  xii.  21-23.    Luke  xvi.  25,  26. 


16;   i.   G,   7.      Mark  xi.   24.  |  Rev.  xiv.  13. 

Matt.  vi.  12, 14,  15.     Col.  iv.  2.  I  16  1  John  v.  16. 
Eph.  vi.  18.  I 

EXPOSITION. 

Our  Confession  having  given  a  general  description  of  reli- 
gious worship,  in  regard  to  its  object,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  ought  to  be  performed,  proceeds  now  to  give  a  more 
particular  account  of  the  several  parts  of  religious  worship; 
and,  in  the  sections  under  our  consideration,  it  treats  of  prayer, 
which  is  one  special  part  of  that  worship  we  owe  to  God. 
Prayer,  when  taken  in  its  most  extensive  sense,  includes 
adoration,  or  a  devout  celebration  of  the  perfections  of  God, 
and  of  his  works,  in  which  they  are  displayed ;  confession  of 
our  sins  to  God;  thanksgiving  for  the  favours  which  we  have 
received  from  him;  and  petition  for  the  blessings  of  which 
we  stand  in  need.  But  prayer,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
word,  consists  in  petition  alone;  and  in  this  light  we  shall 
view  it  in  the  observations  we  have  to  offer  in  illustration  of 
the  statements  of  the  Confession. 

I,  Prayer  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  all  men.  As  dependent 
creatures  we  owe  this  homage  to  God.  "  In  him  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being ;"  and  "  from  him  cometh  every 
good  gift,  and  every  perfect  gift."  What,then,can  be  more  rea- 
sonable than  to  acknowledge  our  constant  dependence  on  him, 
and  make  daily  application  to  him  for  the  supply  of  our  wants  ? 

That  God  knows  our  wants  before  we  tell  him  of  them,  and 
that  his  infinite  goodness  will  prompt  him  to  bestow  what  is 
conducive  to  our  happiness,  have  been  sometimes  urged  as 
arguments  against  the  necessity  and  utility  of  prayer.  But, 
although  prayer  is  certainly  not  necessary  to  give  information 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  219 

to  God,  and  is  not  intended  to  excite  the  divine  benevolence, 
yet  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  superfluous;  because  there  may- 
be other  reasons  of  great  importance  for  which  it  is  required. 
It  may  be  designed  to  impress  our  own  minds  more  deeply 
with  a  sense  of  our  wants,  and  to  bring  them  into  that  state 
in  which  alone  it  is  proper  that  the  blessings  we  solicit 
should  be  bestowed  upon  us.  Besides,  prayer  is  the  divinely 
appointed  means  of  obtaining  from  our  heavenly  Father 
the  blessings  we  need.  He  has  commanded  us  to  ask,  and 
promised  we  shall  receive. — Matt.  vii.  7.  He  has  given  us 
many  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,  and  he  has 
said  :  "  For  this  will  I  be  inquired  of  by  the  house  of  Israel, 
to  do  it  for  them." — Ezek.  xxxvi.  37. 

It  has  also  been  alleged,  "  that  wicked  and  unregenerate 
men  ought  not  to  pray  unto  God  at  all."  This  error  was 
broached  by  certain  sectaries,  at  the  very  period  when  our 
Confession  was  compiled  ;*  and  it  lias  been  revived  in  our  own 
day.  It  is  maintained  that,  because  unbelievers  cannot  pray 
acceptably,  they  ought  not  to  pray  at  all.  It  will  be  readily 
admitted  that  the  prayer  of  faith  can  alone  be  acceptable ; 
still  we  must  hold  that  all  men  are  bound  to  pray  to  God. — 

1.  Prayer  is  a  duty  required  by  the  mere  light  of  nature,  and 
must,  therefore,  be  incumbent  on  all  men. — Jonah  i.  5,  6,  14. 

2.  Prayer  is  a  duty  enjoined  upon  men  indiscriminately,  and 
universally  in  the  Word  of  God. — Ps.  lxv.  2 ;  Phil.  iv.  6  ; 
1  Thess.  v.  17.  3.  If  unbelievers,  or  unregenerate  men 
ought  not  to  pray,  then  their  omission  of  prayer  would  not 
be  their  sin;  but  their  neglect  of  prayer  is  always  repre- 
sented in  Scripture  as  highly  criminal. — Ps.  x.  4 ;  Jer.  x. 
25.  4.  The  Apostle  Peter  required  Simon  Magus  to  pray 
unto  God,  though  he  was  then  "  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and 
in  the  bond  of  iniquity." — Acts  viii.  22,  23.  5.  Prayer  is  an 
appointed  means  of  grace  which  all  men  ought  to  improve. 
Though  it  is  not  for  our  praying,  yet  it  is  in  the  way  of  prayer, 
as  God's  instituted  order,  that  we  may  expect  any  blessing 
from  him. — Matt.  vii.  7.  Every  one  that  needs  and  desires 
any  good  thing  from  God  is,  therefore,  bound  to  ask  it  by 
prayer.  6.  Though  the  prayer  as  well  as  the  ploughing  of  the 
wicked  be  sinful,  because  not  done  by  them  in  a  right  man- 
ner, yet  the  matter  of  it  being  lawful  and  good  in  itself,  their 
neglect  of  it  is  a  greater  abomination. — Prov.  xv.  8,  xxi.  4. 
For  these  reasons  we  must  maintain,  agreeably  to  our  Con- 
fession, that  "  prayer  is  by  God  required  of  all  men." 

II.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  for  things  that  are  lawful,  or  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God.     As  our  petitions  ought  to  be  regu- 
*  Edward's  Gangrsna,  part  i.,  p.  27. 


220  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £cHAP.  XXI. 

lated  by  the  revealed  will  of  God,  his  "Word  must  be  the  rule 
of  prayer.  Nor  by  this  rule  are  our  prayers  circumscribed 
within  narrow  limits;  for  nothing  really  necessary  for  us  can 
be  pointed  out  which  is  not  contained  in  some  divine  declara- 
tion or  promise.  We  are  warranted  to  ask  temporal  mer- 
cies of  God  ;  for  "  our  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  we 
have  need  of  these  things"  (Matt.  vi.  32)  ;  but  spiritual  mer- 
cies ought  to  have  the  preference  in  our  requests  ;  for  thus 
saith  our  Saviour  :  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you." — Matt.  vi.  33.  If  we  regulate  our  petitions  by  the 
Word  of  God,  then  we  may  feel  the  utmost  confidence  that 
there  is  an  entire  harmony  between  his  will  and  our  desires  ; 
and  we  may  take  the  full  encouragement  of  that  beautiful 
and  comprehensive  promise  :  "  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my 
words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  you  will,  and  it  shall 
be  done  unto  you." — John  xv.  7  ;  see  also,  1  John  v.  14. 

III.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  in  the  name  of  Christ.  Our  Sa- 
viour frequently  enjoins  us  to  ask  all  things  in  his  name,  and 
assures  us  that  all  our  lawful  desires  and  requests,  presented 

'in  his  name,  shall  be  granted. — John  xiv.  13, 14;  xvi.  23,  24. 
It  is  not  enough,  however,  that  we  merely  introduce- the 
name  of  Christ  into  our  prayers,  or  that  we  conclude  them 
with  the  bare  words  :  "  All  that  we  ask  is  for  Christ's  sake." 
To  pray  in  the  name  of  Christ,  is  to  draw  all  our  encourage- 
ment to  pray  from  Christ  alone,  to  engage  in  this  duty  in  de- 
pendence upon  his  strength,  and  to  rely  upon  his  merit  and 
intercession  alone  for  access  to  God,  and  for  acceptance  and 
a  gracious  answer  to  our  prayers. 

IV.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  in  dependence  upon  the  assis- 
tance of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  frequently  mentioned  in 
Scripture  as  requisite  to  acceptable  prayer. — Eph.  vi.  18  ; 
Jude  20.  We  know  not  what  to  pray  for  as  we  ought,  so 
that,  without  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  we  are  in  danger 
of  asking  amiss  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  our  requests. 
Neither  do  we  know  how  to  pray  as  we  ought.  But  the 
Spirit  is  promised  to  help  our  infirmities,  by  enlightening  our 
minds  in  the  knowledge  of  our  needs,  bringing  to  our  re- 
membrance the  promises  which  are  our  encouragement  to 
ask  of  God  the  supply  of  our  wants,  and  exciting  within  us 
those  affections  and  graces  which  are  necessary  to  acceptable 
prayer. — Rom.  viii.  26,  29. 

V.  If  we  would  have  our  prayers  accepted  of  God,  they 
must  be  offered  up  in  a  right  manner,  which  includes  a  va- 
riety of  things.  We  must  pray — 1.  With  understanding  (Ps. 
xlvii.  7);  with  some  knowledge  of  God,  the  alone  object  of 


SECT.  3,  4.]  OF  RELTGTOUS  WORSHIP.  221 

prayer  ;  of  our  wants,  the  subject-matter  of  prayer  ;  of  the 
person  and  work  of  Christ,  the  alone  medium  of  acceptable 
prayer;  and  of  the  promises,  which  are  our  encouragement 
in  prayer.  2.  With  reverence  (Heb.  xii.  28),  arising  from 
a  deep  sense  of  the  infinite  majesty  and  unspotted  holiness 
of  God.  3.  With  humility  (Gen.  xviii.  27),  arising  from  a, 
deep  impression  of  our  own  unworthiness  and  sinfulness. 
4.  With  fervency  (James  v.  16),  arising  from  a  lively  appre- 
hension of  our  own  wants,  and  of  the  invaluable  nature  of 
the  blessings  which  we  ask  of  God.  5.  With  faith  (James 
i.  6),  believing  that  we  shall  receive  what  we  ask  according 
to  the  will  of  God.  6.  With  love  (1  Tim.  ii.  8),  cherishing 
an  ardent  desire  after  God's  presence  with  us,  and  an  affec- 
tionate regard  to  all  those  for  whom  we  ought  to  pray.  7. 
With  importunity  and  perseverance  (Matt.  xv.  22-28  ;  Eph. 
vi.  18),  pressing  our  suit,  and  renewing  our  petition  again  and 
again,  until  a  gracious  answer  is  obtained.  8.  Hopefully, 
waiting  upon  God,  with  submission  to  his  will,  and  looking 
for  an  answer  to  our  supplications. — Ps.  v.  3  ;  Mic.  vii.  7. 

VI.  Prayer,  at  least  when  public  and  social,  ought  to  be 
offered  up  in  a  known  tongue.  This  condemns  the  doctrine 
and  practice  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  maintains  that  it 
is  not  needful  that  public  prayers  be  in  a  known  tongue,  and 
still  continues  to  perform  her  service  in  the  Latin  language, 
which  has  ceased  to  be  vernacular  for  a  thousand  years. 
This  practice  is  so  contrary  to  common  sense,  that  no  argu- 
ment can  be  necessary  to  support  the  statement  of  our  Con- 
fession in  opposition  to  it.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe,  that 
the  Apostle  Paul  occupies  nearly  the  whole  of  the  14th 
chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  in  showing  that 
public  prayers  ought  to  be  offered  up  in  the  vulgar  tongue. 
He  would  rather  speaR  five  words  which  the  people  could 
understand,  than  ten  thousand  in  an  unknown  tongue. 
He  lays  down  this  general  rule  :  "  Let  all  things  be  done 
unto  edifying."  But  how  can  the  people  be  edified  by  wor- 
ship performed  in  a  language  which  they  do  not  understand  ? 

VII.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  "  for  all  sorts  of  men  living, 
or  that  shall  live  hereafter ;  but  not  for  the  dead,  nor  for 
those  of  whom  it  may  be  known  that  they  have  sinned  the 
sin  unto  death."  We  ought  to  pray  "  for  the  whole  Church 
of  Christ  upon  earth — for  magistrates  and  ministers  ;  our 
brethren,  yea,  our  enemies."*  And  as  Christ  prayed  for  those 
that  should  afterwards  believe  on  him  (John  xvii.  20),  so 
we  should  pray  for  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  in  the 
world  until  his  second  coming Ps.  cii.  18. 

*  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  183. 


222  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

The  statement  that  we  are  not  to  pray  for  the  dead  is 
levelled  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  maintains  that 
prayers  and  masses  ought  to  be  performed  for  departed  souls, 
and  may  really  profit  them.  In  Scripture  we  find  no  precept 
requiring  us  to  pray  for  the  dead,  nor  any  promise  that  God 
will  hear  our  prayers  for  them,  nor  any  example  of  prayer 
being  offered  on  their  behalf ;  for  when  Paul  prayed  that 
"  Onesiphorus  might  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day" 
(2  Tim.  i.  18),  it  cannot  be  proved  that  Onesiphorus  was 
then  dead.  David  ceased  praying  for  his  child  when  once  it 
was  removed  by  death. — 2  Sam.  xii.  22,  23.  The  state  of 
the  dead  is  unalterably  fixed,  and  therefore  our  prayers  can- 
not profit  them Luke  xvi.  22-26. 

The  statement,  that  we  are  not  to  pray  for  those  who  are 
known  to  have  sinned  the  sin  unto  death,  is  founded  on  the 
express  words  of  the  Apostle  John  :  "  If  any  man  see  his 
brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not  unto  death,  he  shall  ask,  and 
he  shall  give  him  life  for  them  that  sin  not  unto  death. 
There  is  a  sin  unto  death  :  I  do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray 
for  it." — 1  John  v.  16.  The  sin  unto  death  most  probably 
is  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  alone  is  pronounced 
to  be  unpardonable;  and  the  irremissible  nature  of  that  sin 
is  evidently  the  reason  why  prayer  is  forbidden  for  the  per- 
son who  is  known  to  be  guilty  of  it. 

Section  V. — The  reading  of  the  Scriptures  with  godly 
fear ; 17  the  sound  preaching,13  and  conscionable  hearing 
of  the  Word,  in  obedience  unto  God,  with  understanding, 
Faith,  and  reverence  ; 19  singing  of  psalms  with  grace  in 
the  heart;20  as  also  the  due  administration  and  worthy 
receiving  of  the  sacraments  instituted  by  Christ;  are 
all  parts  of  the  ordinary  religious  worship  of  God : 21 
besides  religious  oaths,22  and  vows,23  solemn  fastings,24 
and  thinksgivings  upon  special  occasions,25  which  are,  in 
their  several  times  and  seasons,  to  be  used  in  an  holy 
and  religious  manner.26 

17  Acts  xv.  21.     Rev.  i.  3.  |  22  Deut.  vi.  13.     Neh.  x.  29. 

18  2  Tim.  iv.  2.  |  23  Isa.  xix.  21.     Eccl.  v.  4,  5. 

19  James  i.   22.     Acts  x.  33.     Matt.     24  joel  ii.  12.     Esth.  iv.  16.     Matt. 

xiii.  19.  Heb.  iv.  2.    Isa.lxvi.  2.  |  ix.  15.     1  Cor.  vii.  5. 

20  Col.   iii.  16.     Eph.  v.  19.    James    25  Ps.  cvii.     Esth.  ix.  22. 

v.  13.  26  Heb.  xii.  28. 

31  Matt,  xxviii.  19.     1  Cor.  xi.  23-29.  | 
Acts  ii.  42.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

Our  Confession  having  explained  the  duty  of  prayer,  pro- 


SECT.  5.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  223 

ceeds  to  enumerate  the  other  ordinances  of  religious  wor- 
ship; some  of  which  are  ordinary  and  stated,  others  extra- 
ordinary and  occasional. 

1.  The  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  The  reading  of  the 
Word  of  God  ought  to  be  attended  to  in  public  (Neh.  viii. 
8;  Luke  iv.  16);  in  families  (Deut.  vi.  6-9;  Ps.  lxxviii.  5); 
and  in  secret. — John  v.  39.  "  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  to 
be  read  with  a  high  and  reverent  esteem  of  them;  with  a 
firm  persuasion  that  they  are  the  very  Word  of  God,  and  that 
he  only  can  enable  us  to  understand  them;  with  desire  to 
know,  believe,  and  obey  the  will  of  God  revealed  in  them; 
with  diligence  and  attention  to  the  matter  and  scope  of  them; 
with  meditation,  application,  self-denial,  and  prayer."* 

2.  The  preaching  and  hearing  of  the  Word.  The  preaching 
of  the  Word  is  a  divine  ordinance,  and  appointed  to  continue 
in  the  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world. — 1  Cor.  i.  21 ;  Matt, 
xxviii.  20.  That  the  office  of  the  ministry  is  of  divine  in- 
stitution, and  a  distinct  office  in  the  Church,  appears  from 
the  following  considerations  : — 1.  Peculiar  titles  are  in  Scrip- 
ture given  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  They  are  called 
pastors,  teachers,  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God,  bishops 
or  overseers  of  the  flock,  and  angels  of  the  Churches.  2. 
Peculiar  duties  are  assigned  to  them.  They  are  to  preach 
the  Word,  to  rebuke  and  to  instruct  gainsayers  (2  Tim.  iv.  2, 
ii.  25) ;  to  administer  the  sacraments  (Matt,  xxviii.  19;  1  Cor. 
xi.  23) ;  to  watch  over  the  flock,  as  those  that  must  give  an 
account  (Heb.  xiii.  17) ;  to  give  attendance  to  reading,  to 
exhortation,  to  doctrine ;  to  meditate  upon  these  things,  and 
give  themselves  wholly  to  them. — 1  Tim.  ii.  13,  15.  3.  Pe- 
culiar duties  are  required  of  the  people  in  reference  to  their 
ministers.  They  are  called  to  know  and  acknowledge  them 
that  labour  among  them,  and  are  over  them  in  the  Lord  (1 
Thess.  v.  12);  to  esteem  them  highly  in  love  for  their  work's 
sake  (1  Thess.  v.  13);  to  obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
them,  and  submit  themselves  (Heb.  xiii.  17);  to  provide  for 
their  maintenance  (Gal.  vi.  6);  and  to  pray  for  them. — 2 
Thess.  iii.  1 .  These  things  clearly  prove  that  the  ministry 
is  a  distinct  office  in  the  Church. 

Though  all  may  and  ought  to  read  the  Word  of  God,  yet  it 
is  to  be  preached  "  only  by  such  as  are  sufficiently  gifted,  and 
also  duly  approved  and  called  to  that  office,  "f  Christians 
should  improve  their  gifts  and  opportunities  in  a  private  way 
for  mutual  admonition  and  edification;  but  none,  whatever 
gifts  they  may  possess,  are  warranted  to  preach  the  gospel 

*  The  Larger  Catechism,  Quest.  157. 
\  Ibid.,  Quest.  I08. 


224  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £cHAP.  XXI. 

unless  they  have  the  call  of  Christ  for  that  purpose.  The 
apostles  received  their  call  immediately  from  Christ  himself, 
and  they  were  empowered  to  commit  that  sacred  trust  to  in- 
ferior teachers;  these,  again,  were  commanded  to  commit  it 
to  faithful  men  who  should  be  able  to  teach  others  ;  and 
none  have  a  right  to  preach  the  gospel,  in  ordinary  cases, 
but  those  who  are  thus  authorised  by  Christ  through  the  me- 
dium of  persons  already  vested  with  official  power  in  the 
Church.  In  the  primitive  Church,  those  who  preached  the 
"Word  were  solemnly  set  apart  to  their  office  by  "  the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery." — 1  Tim.  iv.  14.  A  re- 
gular call  to  preach  the  gospel  is  necessary,  on  account  of  the 
people;  for  all  the  success  of  a  minister's  labours  depends 
on  the  blessing  of  Christ,  and  the  people  have  no  warrant  to 
expect  this  blessing  upon  the  labours  of  those  who  are  not 
the  servants  of  Christ.— Jer.  xxiii.  32.  This  call  is  no  less 
necessary  for  the  comfort  and  encouragement  of  ministers 
themselves;  for  as  the  work  of  the  ministry  is  a  work  of  pe- 
culiar difficulty  and  danger,  so  none  are  warranted  to  expect 
divine  support  and  protection  in  the  discharge  of  that  work, 
but  those  who  act  under  a  divine  commission. — Rom.  x.  14, 
15;  Acts  xxvi.  16,  17. 

3.  Singing  of  psalms.  This  was  enjoined,  under  the  Old 
Testament,  as  a  part  of  the  ordinary  worship  of  God,  and  it  is 
distinguished  from  ceremonial  worship. — Ps.  lxix.  30,  31. 
It  is  not  abrogated  under  the  New  Testament,  but  rather 
confirmed. — Eph.  v.  19;  Col.  iii.  16.  It  is  sanctioned  by  the 
example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. — Matt.  xxvi.  30;  Acts 
xvi.  25.  The  Psalms  of  David  were  especially  intended  by 
God  for  the  use  of  the  Church,  in  the  exercise  of  public 
praise,  under  the  former  dispensation;  and  they  are  ecpially 
adapted  to  the  use  of  the  Church  under  the  present  dispen- 
sation. Although  the  apostles  insist  much  upon  the  abolition 
cf  ritual  institutions,  they  give  no  intimation  that  the  Psalms 
of  David  are  unsuitable  for  gospel- worship;  and  had  it  been 
intended  that  they  should  be  set  aside  in  New  Testament 
times,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  another  psalmody  would 
have  been  provided  in  their  room.  In  the  Book  of  Psalms 
there  are  various  passages  which  seem  to  indicate  that  they 
were  intended  by  the  Spirit  for  the  use  of  the  Church  in  all 
ages.  "  I  will  extol  thee,  my  God,  O  King,"  says  David, 
"  and  I  will  bless  thy  name  for  ever  and  ever." — Ps.  cxlv.  1. 
This  intimates,  as  the  excellent  Henry  remarks,  "  that  the 
Psalms  which  David  penned  should  be  made  use  of  in  prais- 
ing God  by  the  Church  to  the  end  of  time."  We  ought  to 
praise  God  with  our  lins  as  well  as  with  our  spirits,  and 


SECT.  6.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  225 

should  exert  ourselves  to  do  it  "  skilfully." — Ps.  xxxiii.  3. 
As  this  is  a  part  of  public  worship  in  which  the  whole  con- 
gregation should  unite  their  voices,  persons  ought  to  culti- 
vate sacred  music,  that  they  may  be  able  to  join  in  this  exer- 
cise with  becoming  harmony.  But  the  chief  thing  is  to 
sing  with  understanding,  and  with  affections  of  heart  cor- 
responding to  the  matter  sung. — Ps.  xlvii.  *];  1  Cor.  xvi.  15; 
Ps.  cviii.  1. 

4.  The  due  administration  and  worthy  receiving  of  the 
sacraments  instituted  by  Christ.  As  subsequent  chapters 
treat  fully  of  these  ordinances,  we  pass  them  at  present. 

5.  Religious  oaths  and  vows.  These  will  come  under  our 
consideration  in  the  next  chapter. 

6.  Solemn  fastings  and  thanksgivings.  Stated  festival- 
days,  commonly  called  holy-days,  have  no  warrant  in  the 
Word  of  God;  but  a  day  may  be  set  apart,  by  competent  au- 
thority, for  fasting  or  thanksgiving,  when  extraordinary  dis- 
pensations of  Providence  administer  cause  for  them.  When 
judgments  are  threatened  or  inflicted,  or  when  some  special 
blessing  is  to  be  sought  and  obtained,  fasting  is  eminently 
seasonable.  When  some  remarkable  mercy  or  deliverance 
has  been  received,  there  is  a  special  call  to  thanksgiving. 
The  views  of  the  compilers  of  our  Confession  respecting  these 
ordinances  may  be  found  in  "  The  Directory  for  the  Public 
Worship  of  God." 

Section  VI. — Neither  prayer,  nor  any  other  part  of 
religious  worship,  is,  now  under  the  gospel,  either  tied 
unto,  or  made  more  acceptable  by,  any  place  in  which 
it  is  performed,  or  towards  which  it  is  directed : 27  but 
God  is  to  be  worshipped  everywhere,28  in  spirit  and  in 
truth  ; a  as  in  private  families,30  daily,31  and  in  secret  each 
one  by  himself ; 32  so  more  solemnly  in  the  public 
assemblies,  which  are  not  carelessly  or  wilfully  to  be 
neglected  or  forsaken,  when  God,  by  his  Word  or  pro- 
vidence, calleth  thereunto.33 

27  John  iv.  21.  I  31  Matt.  vi.  11. 

8  Mai.  i.  11.    1  Tim.  ii.  8.  32  Matt.  vi.  6.     Eph.  vi.  18. ' 

29  John  iv.  23,  24.  |  33  Isa.  lvi.  6,  7.     Heb.  x.  25.     Prov. 

30  Jer.   x.  25.     Deut.  vi.  6,  7.  Job               i.  20,    21,  24;    viii.    34.       Acts 

i.  5.    2  Sam.  vi.  18,  20.     1  Pet.  xiii.    42.      Luke    iv.    16.     Acts 

iii.  7.     Acts  x.  2.  ii.  42. 

EXPOSITION. 

Under  the  gospel,  all  difference  of  places  for  religious  wor- 
ship is  abolished.  We  are  required  to  "  worship  the  Father  in 
P 


226  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

spirit  and  in  truth"  (John  iv.  21);  without  respect  of  places  ; 
and  "  to  pray  everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands  without 
wrath  and  doubting." — 1  Tim.  ii.  8.  This  condemns  the  prac- 
tice of  consecrating  churches,  and  ascribing  holiness  to  them; 
and  also  the  superstitious  opinion,  that  religious  services  are 
more  acceptable  to  God  and  beneficial  to  men  in  one  place 
than  another. 

1.  Religious  worship  ought  to  be  performed  in  private 
families  daily.  This  is  a  duty  which  the  light  of  nature  very 
plainly  teaches.  And  the  heathens  will  rise  up  in  judgment 
against  the  prayerless  families  of  professed  Christians;  for 
besides  their  tutelar  deities,  who  were  supposed  to  preside 
over  cities  and  nations,  and  who  had  public  honours  paid  to 
them  in  that  character,  they  had  their  household  gods,  whom 
every  private  family  worshipped  at  home  as  their  immediate 
guardians  and  benefactors.  But  the  light  of  Scripture  gives 
a  more  clear  discovery  of  the  obligation  to  this  duty.  It  is 
recommended  by  the  example  of  the  saints  recorded  in  Scrip- 
ture; and  good  examples  as  really  bind  us  to  the  duty  as  ex- 
press precepts.  We  find  Abraham  rearing  up  altars  where- 
ever  he  came;  and  his  attention  to  family  religion  was  ex- 
pressly commended  by  God. — Gen  xviii.  19.  We  have  the 
examples  of  Joshua  (xxiv.  15);  of  Job  (i.  5);  and  of  David. 
2  Sam.  vi.  20.  But  we  have  a  still  more  engaging  example 
of  family  worship  on  record  in  Scripture  than  any  of  these, 
even  the  example  of  our  Saviour  himself,  who,  though  he 
had  no  house  of  his  own,  yet  he  had  a  family. — Matt.  x. 
25.  Now  we  find  him  retiring  from  the  crowd  that  followed 
him,  and  praying  with  his  own  family  (Luke  ix.  18)  :  "  As 
he  was  alone  praying,  his  disciples  were  with  him."  The 
practice  of  family  worship  tends  to  promote  even  the  tem- 
poral prosperity  of  families ;  for  it  is  the  blessing  of  God 
that  maketh  rich  and  prosperous;  and  what  more  likely  way 
to  obtain  that  blessing,  than  for  a  whole  family  to  join  in 
prayer  and  ask  it  daily  of  God  ? — Prov.  iii.  33.  Much  more 
does  family  worship  tend  to  promote  the  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal interests  of  families;  while  it  is  also  the  most  effectual 
means  to  propagate  religion  from  generation  to  generation. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  neglect  of  this  duty  will  bring  the 
curse  of  God  upon  families;  for  "  the  curse  of  the  Lord  is 
in  the  house  of  the  wicked." — Prov.  iii.  33.  How  awful  is 
that  text  (Jer.  x.  25)  :  "  Pour  out  thy  fury  upon  the  heathen 
that  know  thee  not,  and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  upon 
thy  name."  Let  the  head  of  every  family,  then,  adopt  the 
excellent  resolution  of  Joshua:  "  As  for  me  and  my  house, 
we  will  serve  the  Lord." 


SECT.  6.]  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP.  227 

2.  Religious  worship  ought  to  be  performed  in  secret,  each 
one  by  himself.  In  Matt.  vi.  6,  our  Saviour  plainly  incul- 
cates the  duty  of  secret  prayer  upon  all  his  disciples,  and 
directs  them  how  to  perform  it  in  a  right  manner,  parti- 
cularly to  choose  some  secret  place  of  retirement  for  their 
secret  devotions.  This  duty  is  also  most  strongly  recommended 
by  the  Saviour's  example. — Matt.  xiv.  23;  Mark  i.  35.  It 
has  been  practised  by  the  saints  of  God  in  every  age.  We 
have  the  example  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xxxii.  24) ;  of  Daniel 
(Dan.  vi.  10) ;  of  David  (Ps.  lv.  3,  v.  17)  ;  of  Hezekiah 
(Isa.  xxxviii.  2).  Secret  prayer,  indeed,  is  inseparable  from 
a  state  of  grace ;  it  is  one  of  the  first,  one  of  the  plainest  and 
strongest  symptoms  of  spiritual  lite.  No  sooner  was  Saul  of 
Tarsus  converted,  than  'it  was  said  of  him,  "  Behold  he  pray- 
eth." — Acts  ix.  11.  This  is  an  eminent  means  to  promote 
genuine  piety  ;  and  the  regular  and  conscientious  practice  of 
this  duty  is  one  of  the  best  evidences  of  Christian  sincerity. 
But  not  only  ought  Christians  to  engage  in  secret  prayer  at 
least  every  morning  and  evening,  they  may  also,  on  other 
occasions,  even  when  employed  in  their  daily  occupations, 
frequently  lift  up  their  souls  to  God  in  devout  and  fervent 
ejaculations.  Of  this  species  of  prayer  we  have  many  ex- 
amples in  the  Word  of  God. — Exod.  xiv.  15;  1  Sam.  i.  13; 
Neh.  ii.  4;  1  Chron.  v.  20. 

3.  Christians  ought  to  assemble  together,  at  stated  seasons, 
for  public  worship.  Under  the  former  dispensation,  all  the 
males  of  God's  chosen  people  were  enjoined  "  to  appear  three 
times  in  the  year  before  the  Lord  God." — Exod.  xxiii.  1 7.  But 
all  their  worship  of  a  public  nature  was  not  confined  to  the 
temple,  or  to  the  celebration  of  the  sacred  feasts  ;  they  bad 
synagogues  erected  throughout  the  land,  in  which  they  assem- 
bled, at  least  on  the  Sabbath-days,  for  the  service  of  the 
Lord. — Acts  xv.  21 .  Jesus  Christ,  while  he  was  on  earth,  not 
only  went  up  to  Jerusalem  at  the  celebration  of  the  great 
feasts,  but  also  attended  regularly  to  the  service  of  the  syna- 
gogue on  the  Sabbath-days.  "  He  came  to  Nazareth,  where 
he  had  been  brought  up,  and,  as  his  custom  was,  he  went 
into  the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath-day." — Luke  iv.  16.  His 
example  lays  a  strong  obligation  upon  those  who  profess  to 
be  his  followers,  to  be  regular  and  conscientious  in  their 
attendance  upon  the  public  worship  of  God.  The  primitive 
Christians  did  not  satisfy  themselves  with  worshipping  God 
in  secret  and  in  their  families,  but  whenever  they  had  an 
opportunity  they  assembled  together  for  public  worship. — 
Acts  ii.  46.  God  is  eminently  honoured  by  the  social  worship 
of  his  people;  and  he  delights  to  honour  the  ordinances  of 


228  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

his  public  worship,  by  making  them  means  of  grace.  Most 
commonly  it  is  by  means  of  these  ordinances  that  sinners  are 
awakened  and  converted,  and  that  saints  are  edified  and 
comforted.  Christians  ought,  therefore,  to  put  a  high  value 
upon  the  public  worship  of  God,  diligently  to  improve  their 
opportunities  of  "  going  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,"  and 
to  beware  of  "forsaking  the  assembling  of  themselves  to- 
gether, as  the  manner  of  some  is." — Heb.  x.  25. 

Section  VII. — As  it  is  of  the  law  of  nature  that,  in 
general,  a  due  proportion  of  time  be  set  apart  for  the 
worship  of  God ;  so,  in  his  "Word,  by  a  positive,  moral, 
and  perpetual  commandment,  binding  all  men  in  all 
ages,  he  hath  particularly  appointed  one  day  in  seven 
for  a  Sabbath,  to  be  kept  holy  unto  him  : M  which,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
was  the  last  day  of  the  week ;  and,  from  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  was  changed  into  the  first  day  of  the  week,35 
which  in  Scripture  is  called  the  Lord's-day,36  and  is  to 
be  continued  to  the  end  of  the  world  as  the  Christian 
Sabbath.37 

»*  Exod.  xx.  8,  10,  11.     Isa.  lvi.  2, 1  35  Gen.   ii.   2,  3.     1  Cor.   xvi.   1,"2. 
4,  6,  7.  Acts  xx.  7. 

36  Rev.  i.  10.        37  Exod.  xx.  8,  10.    Matt.  v.  17, 18. 

EXPOSITION. 

Our  Confession  next  treats  of  the  time  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  God. 

It  is  a  dictate  of  the  law  of  nature,  that  a  due  proportion  of  v 
our  time  should  be  employed  in  the  immediate  worship  of  God. 
The  right  of  determining  what  exact  proportion  of  time,  and 
what  particular  day  of  the  week  should  be  set  apart  for  this 
purpose,  belongs  to  God.  He  has,  accordingly,  interposed  his  , 
authority,  and  appointed  that  a  seventh  part  of  our  time 
should  be  appropriated  to  his  service.  From  the  beginning 
of  the  world  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  he  enjoined  that 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week  should  be  employed  in  his  wor- 
ship, for  the  special  purpose  of  commemorating  his  rest  from 
the  work  of  creation.  The  particular  day,  however,  might  / 
be  altered  by  the  authority,  and  according  to  the  pleasure,  of 
the  Lawgiver.  And  from  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  in  order 
to  commemorate  the  work  of  redemption  in  combination 
with  the  work  of  creation,  the  Sabbath  was  changed  from 
the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week ;  which  is  to  be  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  the  world  as  the  Christian  Sabbath. 


SECT.  7.]  OF   TIIE  SABBATH-DAY.  229 

From  these  remarks  it  will  be  obvious  that  the  Sabbath  is 
partly  a  moral  and  partly  a  positive  institution.  So  far  asf 
it  requires  that  a  certain  portion  of  our  time  should  be  de- 
voted to  the  worship  of  God,  it  is  moral,  being  founded  in 
the  relation  subsisting  between  God  and  man.  So  far  as  it 
appropriates  the  seventh  part  of  our  time,  and  determines 
the  particular  day  to  be  set  apart  for  the  service  of  God,  it 
is  of  positive  institution,  being  founded  in  the  will  and  ap- 
pointment of  God.  But  it  ought  to  be  observed,  that  a  po- 
sitive institution,  when  once  enacted  and  revealed  by  God, 
may  be  of  perpetual  obligation,  and,  in  this  sense,  may  be 
called  moral.  Hence  it  is  usual  to  speak  of  "  the  morality 
of  the  Sabbath,"  and  to  distinguish  betwixt  what  is  moral 
natural  and  what  is  moral  positive  in  the  fourth  precept  of  the 
decalogue.  As  it  requires  that  some  stated  portion  of  our 
time  should  be  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  God,  it  is  moral 
natural;  and  as  it  enacts  that  a  seventh  portion  of  our  time, 
rather  than  any  other  proportion,  shall  be  set  apart  for  this 
purpose,  it  is  moral  positive.  We  call  it  a  positive  institu- 
tion, because  the  observing  of  one  day  in  seven  as  a  Sabbath 
flows  from  the  sovereign  appointment  of  God ;  and  we  call 
it  moral  positive,  because  the  divine  appointment  is  of  uni- 
versal and  perpetual  obligation;  and  the  Sabbath  is  thus  dis- 
tinguished from  ceremonial  institutions,  which  were  peculiar 
to  the  Jews,  and  were  abrogated  at  the  death  of  Christ.  The 
morality  of  the  Sabbath,  therefore,  consists  in  its  binding 
obligation  upon  all  men,  in  all  ages. 

That  the  appointment  of  one  day  in  seven  for  a  Sabbath  is 
of  universal  and  perpetual  obligation,  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing considerations : — 

1.  From  the  original  institution  of  the  Sabbath.  Of  this 
we  have  an  account,  Gen.  ii.  1-3.  At  this  time  none  of  the 
human  race  were  in  being  but  our  first  parents ;  and  since 
the  Sabbath  was  instituted  for  them,  it  must  be  obligatory 
on  all  their  posterity  to  the  end  of  the  world.  There  is,  un- 
questionably, as  much  reason  and  as  much  need  for  all  the 
sons  of  Adam,  in  all  ages  and  nations,  in  their  feeble  and 
sinful  state,  to  have  a  day  appointed  for  their  own  rest,  and 
for  the  worship  of  God,  as  there  was  for  Adam  in  Paradise, 
and  in  a  state  of  innocence.  The  Sabbath,  as  then  appointed, 
could  not  be  a  ceremonial  institution;  for  while  man  re- 
tained his  integrity,  there  was  no  need  of  any  types  to  sha- 
dow forth  Christ.  This  reasoning  can  only  be  overturned 
by  denying  that  the  Sabbath  was  instituted  in  the  beginning, 
and  proving  that  it  was  first  given  to  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness.    This,  accordingly,  has  been  attempted  by  va- 


230  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fcHAP.  XXI. 

rious  writers ,  but  the  proof  entirely  fails.  There  is  no  rea- 
son to  think  that,  in  Genesis,  Moses  records  the  institution 
of  the  Sabbath  by  anticipation.  The  manner  of  the  narra- 
tive would  naturally  lead  any  reader  to  suppose  that  he  is 
relating  what  took  place  when  the  work  of  creation  was 
finished.  Although  there  is  no  record  of  the  observation  of 
the  Sabbath  for  a  period  of  2500  years,  or  until  after  Israel 
came  out  of  Egypt,  yet  it  cannot  be  inferred  from  this  that 
the  Sabbath  was  not  instituted  from  the  beginning,  or  that 
it  was  not  observed  in  antediluvian  and  patriarchal  times ; 
for  neither  is  there  any  record  of  its  observation  during  a 
period  of  about  500  years,  containing  the  histories  of  Joshua, 
of  the  Judges,  particularly  Samuel,  and  of  Saul ;  nor  is  there 
a  single  instance  of  circumcision  on  record  from  the  time 
that  Israel  entered  into  Canaan  until  the  circumcision  of 
John  the  Baptist.  In  Exod.  xvi.  23,  the  Sabbath  is  evidently 
mentioned,  not  as  a  new  institution,  but  as  one  already 
known.  And  when  the  law  was  promulgated  to  Israel,  at 
Mount  Sinai,  the  Sabbath  was  spoken  of  as  an  institution 
with  which  they  were  formerly  acquainted,  but  which  had 
been  too  much  neglected  or  forgotten.  Probably  in  Egypt 
the  observance  of  it  had  been  in  a  great  measure  suspended; 
and  therefore  they  were  called  to  "Remember  the  Sabbath- 
day,  to  keep  it  holy."  It  may  be  observed,  too,  that  the  di- 
vision of  time  into  weeks  of  seven  days,  which  subsisted  in 
the  age  of  the  patriarchs,  cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted 
for,  but  by  the  previous  institution  of  the  Sabbath. 

2.  The  binding  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  may  be  argued 
from  the  place  which  the  fourth  commandment  occupies  in 
the  decalogue.  It  is  inserted  in  the  very  middle  of  the  mo- 
ral precepts  which  God  delivered  to  mankind  as  a  perpetual 
rule  of  their  lives.  It  is  one  of  those  commands  that  were 
spoken  by  the  voice  of  God  himself,  that  were  twice  written 
on  tables  of  stone  by  the  finger  of  God,  and  that  were  laid  up 
in  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  None  of  these  things  can  be  said 
of  any  ceremonial  institution. 

3.  All  the  reasons  annexed  to  this  commandment,  as  pro- 
mulgated from  Mount  Sinai,  are  moral  in  their  nature. 
These  reasons  had  no  special  reference  to  the  Jews,  but 
equally  respect  all  men,  in  all  nations  and  in  all  ages.  And 
hence  we  find  that  strangers,  as  well  as  the  Jews,  were 
obliged  to  observe  the  Sabbath ;  but  they  were  not  bound  to 
observe  ceremonial  institutions. — Exod.  xx.  10,  11. 

4.  That  the  observation  of  the  Sabbath  was  to  continue 
after  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  is  implied  in  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ  (Matt.  xxiv.  20)  :    "Pray  ye  that 


SECT.  7«]  OF  THE   SABBATH-DAY.  231 

your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neither  on  the  Sabbath-day." 
Christ  is  there  speaking,  not  of  the  Jewish,  but  of  the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath ;  for  he  refers  to  a  flight  which  should  happen 
at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  and  this  did  not  take  place 
until  forty  years  after  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  abolished. 
But  though  the  Sabbath  was  then  to  be  changed  from  the 
seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  yet  the  words  of  Christ 
certainly  intimate  that  the  Sabbath  was  still  to  be  continued. 

5.  The  perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath  is  clearly  taught  in 
Isa.  lvi.  6-8.  Whoever  examines  the  passage,  will  find  that 
the  prophet  is  speaking  of  New  Testament  times.  Under 
the  gospel  dispensation,  therefore,  the  Sabbath  was  still  to 
continue  a  divine  institution ;  it  was  still  to  be  a  duty  to 
keep  it  from  polluting  it;  and  the  keeping  of  it  was  to  be 
blessed,  according  to  the  declarations  of  the  unerring  Spirit 
of  prophecy. 

The  morality  of  the  Sabbath  is  not  affected  by  the  change 
of  the  day.  The  substance  of  the  institution  consists  in  the 
separation  of  a  seventh  portion  of  our  time  to  the  immediate 
worship  of  God;  and  the  particular  day  is  a  thing  perfectly  cir- 
cumstantial. It  is  not  said,  "Remember  the  seventh  day;"  but 
"  Remember  the  Sabbath-day,  to  keep  it  holy."  Neither  is  it 
said,  "God  blessed  the  seventh  day;"  but  "  God  blessed  the 
Sabbath-day,  and  hallowed  it."  But  as  the  seventh  day  of 
the  week  was,  by  divine  appointment,  originally  appropri- 
ated to  the  worship  of  God,  the  day  could  only  be  altered  by 
"  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath."  It  is  admitted  that  we  have  no 
express  precept  for  the  alteration  of  the  day,  but  we  have 
convincing  evidence  that  the  Sabbath  was  changed  from  the 
seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week  at  the  resurrection  of 
Christ. 

1.  That  the  first  day  of  the  week  should  be  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath, was  foretold  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  (Ps. 
cxviii.  24):  "This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made;" 
not  which  he  has  created — for  so  he  has  made  all  other  clays — 
but  which  he  has  consecrated  to  himself,  or  made  into  a  holy 
day.  And  the  day  referred  to  is  the  day  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection, when  "  the  stone  which  the  builders  refused  was 
become  the  head  stone  of  the  corner.'' —  Compare  Acts.  iv. 
10, 11;  see  also  Ezek.  xliii.  27,  where  the  eighth  day  is  men- 
tioned as  the  day  on  which  spiritual  sacrifices  were  to  be  offered 
up  to  the  Lord;  and  the  Christian  Sabbath  maybe  called  the 
eiyhth  day,  because  the  first  day  of  the  week  now  is  the  eighth 
day  in  order  from  the  creation. 

2.  After  his  resurrection,  Christ  repeatedly  met  with  his 
disciples  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.— See  John  xx.  19,  26. 


232  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXI* 

Though  Christ  appeared  to  several  of  the  disciples  on  other 
days,  yet  it  is  only  expressly  recorded  that  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week  he  met  with  them  when  assembled  together.  From 
this  we  may  conclude  that  the  disciples  had  already  begun 
to  assemble  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  that  Christ  ap- 
proved of  the  practice.  Many  are  of  opinion  that  he  continued 
to  meet  with  them  upon  that  day  of  the  week  till  his  ascen- 
sion, "  speaking  to  them  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God." — Acts.  i.  3. 

3.  The  apostles  and  primitive  Christians  statedly  met  on 
that  day  for  the  celebration  of  divine  ordinances.  We  read 
(Acts  xx.  7),  that  "  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the 
disciples  came  together  to  break  bread,  Paul  preached  unto 
them;"  where  their  meeting  together  on  that  day  is  not 
spoken  of  as  a  thing  extraordinary,  or  merely  occasional,  but 
as  a  stated  ordinary  practice.  From  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  primitive  Christians,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  contributed  for  the  relief  of  their  needy  brethren,  and 
this  by  an  express  apostolical  injunction.  Thus  the  collec- 
tion for  the  poor,  which  was  made  in  the  Jewish  synagogues 
on  the  Sabbath,  seems  to  have  been  transferred,  by  apostolical 
authority,  to  the  first  day  of  the  week  among  Christians. 

4.  In  early  times  the  Christian  Sabbath  was  well  known 
by  the  distinguishing  title  of  "the  Xorrf's-day"  (Rev.  i.  10), 
the  day  which  Jesus  Christ  peculiarly  claimed  as  his  own,  and 
which  Avas  consecrated  to  his  honour. 

5.  The  first  day  of  the  week  has  been  uniformly  observed 
as  the  Christian  Sabbath,  from  the  apostolic  age  down  to  the 
present  time ;  and  God  has  remarkably  honoured  that  day  by 
conferring  precious  blessings  on  his  people,  when  employed 
in  the  religious  observance  of  it. 

There  is  an  adequate  reason  for  the  change  of  the  Sabbath 
from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  As  the  seventh 
day  was  kept  holy  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  in  commemoration  of  the  work  of 
creation,  so  it  is  reasonable  that,  since  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  the  first  day  of  the  week  should  be  sanctified,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  greater  and  more  glorious  work  of  re- 
demption. And  as  there  will  be  no  new  work  of  the  Al- 
mighty of  superior  or  equal  importance,  it  is  fit  that  this  day 
should  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  the  Christian 
Sabbath. 

Section  VIII. — This  Sabbath  is  then  kept  holy  unto 
the  Lord,  when  men,  after  a  due  preparing  of  their 
hearts,  and  ordering  of  their  common  affairs  beforehand, 


SECT.  8.  J  OF  THE   SABBATH-DAY.  233 

do  not  only  observe  an  holy  rest  all  the  day  from  their 
own  works,  words,  and  thoughts  about  their  worldly 
employments  and  recreations ; 38  but  also  are  taken  up 
the  whole  time  in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of 
his  worship,  and  in  the  duties  of  necessity  and  mercy.39 

38  Exod.  xx.  8;  xvi.  23,  25,  26,  29,  30;  xxxi.  15-17.     Isa.  lviii.  13.     Neh. 
xiii.  15-19,21,22.        3S  Isa.  lviii.  13.     Matt.  xii.  1-13. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  points  out  what  is  requisite  to  the  proper 
sanctification  of  the  Sabbath.  After  due  preparation  before- 
hand, the  Sabbath  is  to  be  kept  holy,  by  resting  from  all 
worldly  employments  and  recreations — by  spending  the 
whole  time  in  holy  exercises,  and  in  the  duties  of  necessity 
and  mercy. 

1.  Persons  should  endeavour  so  to  dispose  of  their  com- 
mon affairs  beforehand,  that  the  Sabbath  may  not  be  en- 
trenched upon  by  the  cares  and  business  of  this  world,  and 
to  prepare  their  hearts  for  engaging  in  the  exercises  appro- 
priate to  the  Lord's-day. 

2.  As  the  Sabbath  is  a  day  of  holy  rest,  persons  ought  to 
abstain,  during  the  whole  day,  from  their  worldly  employ- 
ments— from  all  manual  labour,  and  also  from  the  labours 
of  the  mind  about  secular  studies — and  from  all  unne- 
cessary words  and  thoughts  about  such  subjects.  They  are 
also  required  to  abstain  from  those  innocent  recreations  which 
are  lawful  on  other  days,  because  these  would  engross  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  which  is  sacred  to  other  purposes,  and  would 
indispose  them  for  the  proper  duties  of  the  Sabbath.  To 
engage  on  that  day  in  such  recreations  or  amusements  as  are 
in  themselves  sinful,  must  be  attended  with  highly  aggra- 
vated guilt. 

3.  Persons  ought  to  spend  the  whole  time  of  the  Sabbath, 
when  they  are  awake,  in  holy  exercises — in  prayer,  in  re- 
ligious reading,  and  meditation — in  the  instruction  of  their 
families,  and  pious  conversation  with  them — and  in  attendance 
upon  the  public  ordinances  of  grace.  It  is  very  wrong  to 
appropriate  a  few  hours  of  the  Sabbath  to  religious  exercises, 
and  to  employ  all  the  rest  in  a  worldly  manner.  A  Sabbath- 
day  is  of  the  same  duration  as  the  other  six  days  of  the  week, 
and  the  same  proportion  of  time  that  we  spend  in  our  own 
works  on  the  other  days  should  be  devoted  on  Sabbath  to 
the  public  or  private  exercises  of  God's  worship. 

4.  Works  of  necessity  and  mercy  are  allowed  on  the  Sab- 


234  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fdlAP.  XXI. 

bath.  By  the  former  are  meant  works  which  could  not  have 
been  done  on  the  preceding  day,  and  cannot  be  delayed  till 
the  day  following.  By  the  latter  are  meant  those  works 
which  are  performed  from  compassion  to  our  fellow-crea- 
tures. Under  these  heads  are  included  such  works  as  these: 
travelling  to  and  from  the  house  of  God ;  defending  a  town 
or  city  that  is  invaded  by  enemies;  working  a  vessel  at  sea ; 
quenching  a  fire,  and  removing  goods  which  would  be  de- 
stroyed by  it,  or  by  a  sudden  inundation;  feeding  cattle,  and 
preserving  their  lives  from  danger;  visiting  the  sick,  and  mi- 
nistering to  their  comfort  and  necessities;  and  taking  care  of 
children.  In  short,  there  is  nothing  of  this  kind  forbidden, 
though  it  may,  in  a  great  measure,  sometimes  hinder  the  pro- 
per work  of  the  day;  for  "  God  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sa- 
crifice." Jesus  healed  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath-day,  and  his 
disciples  rubbed  out  the  corn  from  the  ears,  when  they  were 
hungry;  and  though  the  Pharisees  reproved  them,  yet  the 
Lord  pronounced  them  blameless. 

"  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man."  It  is  not  an  arbitrary 
appointment,  but  a  most  benevolent  institution — designed  for 
the  benefit  and  advantage  of  man.  Viewed  merely  as  a  day 
of  cessation  from  labour,  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  merciful 
and  beneficial  institution.  It  is  intended  to  give  to  the  la- 
borious classes  of  mankind  an  opportunity  of  resting  from 
toil;  and  the  return  of  the  hepdomadal  rest  is  found  to  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  health  and 
strength.  Every  member  of  the  community  ought  to  be  se- 
cured in  the  full  enjoyment  of  that  day  of  rest  which  God  in 
his  goodness,  and  by  his  authority,  has  allowed  him.  But  the 
Sabbath  is  not  merely  a  season  of  rest  from  the  fatigues  and 
anxieties  of  secular  business — it  is  a  cessation  from  ordinary 
labour,  that  we  may  attend  with  greater  diligence  to  the 
duties  of  religion.  And  surely  one  whole  day  in  seven  is 
not  too  much  for  the  immediate  service  of  God,  for  the 
improvement  of  our  souls,  and  for  preparation  for  eternity. 
Scotland  has  long  been  honourably  distinguished  for  its  de- 
cent observance  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  to  be  deplored,  how- 
ever, that  in  this  respect  a  sad  deterioration  is  taking  place. 
Sabbath  profanation  has  of  late  years  been  making  progress 
with  fearful  rapidity,  and  as  this  is  the  fertile  source  of 
numerous  other  evils,  we  know  of  nothing  more  injurious 
to  the  best  interests  of  our  country.  The  proper  observa- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  is  a  principal  means  of  promoting  the 
temporal  welfare  of  individuals  and  of  nations,  of  elevating 
the  tone  of  public  morals,  of  advancing  the  interests  of  reli- 
gion, and  of  drawing  down  the  divine  favour  and  blessing. 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OP  LAWFUL  OATHS  AND  VOWS.  235 

The  desecration  of  the  Sabbath,  on  the  other  hand,  is  dstri- 
mental  to  the  temporal  interests  of  men — demoralizes  the 
community,  lays  waste  religion,  and  calls  down  the  displea- 
sure and  judgments  of  God  upon  a  nation.  Every  one,  there- 
fore, should  exert  all  his  influence  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
this  increasing  evil,  and  should  resolve  that,  whatever  others 
do,  he  will "  keep  the  Sabbath  from  polluting  it."  They  who 
honour  God  by  a  strict  and  diligent  observation  of  that  day 
which  he  claims  as  his  special  property,  shall  obtain  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord,  according  to  that  comprehensive  promise 
(Isa.  lviii.  13,  14):  "  If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sab- 
bath, from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day;  and  call  the 
Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honourable;  and 
shalt  honour  him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding 
thine  own  pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words  :  then 
shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord;  and  I  will  cause  thee 
to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with 
the  heritage  of  Jacob  thy  father  ;  for  the  month  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OF  LAWFUL  OATHS   AND  VOWS. 

Section  I. — A  lawful  oath  is  a  part  of  religious 
worship,1  wherein,  upon  just  occasion,  the  person  swear- 
ing solemnly  calleth  God  to  witness  what  he  asserteth 
or  promiseth ;  and  to  judge  him  according  to  the  truth 
or  falsehood  of  what  he  sweareth.2 

Section  II. — The  name  of  God  only  is  that  by  which 
men  ought  to  swear,  and  therein  it  is  to  be  used  with  all 
holy  fear  and  reverence:3  therefore  to  swear  vainly  or 
rashly  by  that  glorious  and  dreadful  name,  or  to  swear 
at  all  by  any  other  thing,  is  sinful,  and  to  be  abhorred.4 
Yet  as,  in  matters  of  weight  and  moment,  an  oath  is 

1  Deut.  x.  20.  I  a  Deut.  vi.  13. 

-  Exod.  xx.  7.    Lev.  xix.  12.    2  Cor.    *  Exod.  xx.  7.    Jer.  v.  7.     Matt.  v. 
i.  23.    2  Chron.  vi.  22,  23.  34,  37.    James  v.  12.* 


236  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXII. 

warranted  by  the  Word  of  God  under  the  New 
Testament  as  well  as  under  the  Old ; 5  so  a  lawful  oath 
being  imposed  by  a  lawful  authority,  in  such  matters, 
ought  to  be  taken.6 

Section  III Whosoever  taketh  an  oath,  ought  duly 

to  consider  the  weightiness  of  so  solemn  an  act,  and 
therein  to  avouch  nothing  but  what  he  is  fully  persuaded 
is  the  truth.7  Neither  may  any  man  bind  himself  by 
oath  to  anything  but  what  is  good  and  just,  and  what 
he  believeth  so  to  be,  and  what  he  is  able  and  resolved 
to  perform.8  Yet  it  is  a  sin  to  refuse  an  oath  touching 
anything  that  is  good  and  just,  being  imposed  by  lawful 
authority.9 

Section  IY. — An  oath  is  to  be  taken  in  the  plain  and 
common  sense  of  the  words,  without  equivocation  or 
mental  reservation.10  It  cannot  oblige  to  sin;  but  in 
anything  not  sinful,  being  taken,  it  binds  to  performance, 
although  to  a  man's  own  hurt ; u  nor  is  it  to  be  violated, 
although  made  to  heretics  or  infidels.12 

6  Heb.    vi.    16.    2   Cor.  i.   23.      Isa.  I  9  Numb.  v.  19,  21.  Neh.  v.  12.  Exod. 

lxv.  16.  xxii.  7-11. 

'  1  Kings    viii.    31.      Neh.    xiii.    25.  |  10  Jer.  iv.  2.     Ps.  xxiv.  4. 

Ezra  x.  5.  "1  Sam.  xxv.  22,  32-31.  Ps.  xv.  4. 
'  Exod.  xx.  7.  Jer.  iv.  2."  12  Ezek.  xvii.  16,  18,  19.  Josh,  ix 
«  Gen.  xxiv.  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  9.  | 18,  19.    2  Sam.  xxi.  1. 

EXPOSITION. 

These  sections  embrace  the  following  points  :  first,  The 
nature  of  a  lawful  oath;  secondly,  By  whose  name  men  ought 
to  swear;  thirdly,  The  warrantableness  of  taking  an  oath; 
fourthly,  The  manner  in  which  an  oath  ought  to  be  taken; 
and,  fifthly,  The  binding  obligation  of  an  oath. 

1.  An  oath  is  a  solemn  act  of  religious  worship,  in  which 
the  person  swearing  calls  God  to  witness  his  sincerity  in 
what  he  asserts  or  promises,  and  to  judge  him  according  to 
the  truth  or  falsehood  of  what  he  swears.  When  a  person 
swears  to  facts  past  or  present,  this  is  called  an  assertory  oath; 
when  one  swears  that  he  will  perform  a  certain  deed  or 
deeds  in  time  to  come,  this  is  called  a  promissory  oath.  An 
oath  may  relate  to  matters  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  and,  accord- 
ing to  its  matter,  may  be  denominated  a  civil  or  ecclesias- 
tical oath;  but  to  whatsoever  matter  it  may  be  applied,  the 


SECT.  1-4.]  OF  LAWFUL  OATHS  AND  VOWS.  237 

oath  itself  retaifis  its  high  place  among  the  solemnities  of  re- 
ligion. 

2.  An  oath  is  only  to  be  taken  in  the  name  of  God.  We 
are  expressly  commanded  to  "  swear  by  his  name"  (Deut. 
vi.  13);  and  to  "  swear  by  them  that  are  no  gods"  is  repre- 
sented as  highly  criminal. — Jer.  v.  7.  Swearing  by  the  name 
of  God  implies  a  belief  and  acknowledgment  of  his  omni- 
science, omnipotence,  and  justice;  it  follows,  therefore,  that 
to  swear  by  any  other  besides  him,  must  be  utterly  unlaw- 
ful, and  no  less  than  idolatry. 

3.  An  oath  may  be  warrantably  taken  on  weighty  occa- 
sions, when  imposed  by  lawful  authority.  The  Quakers,  and 
some  others,  deny  the  lawfulness  of  swearing  an  oath  in  any 
case,  under  the  New  Testament.  But  their  opinion  is  re- 
futed by  a  variety  of  arguments.  An  oath  for  confirmation 
is  warranted  by  the  third  precept  of  the  moral  law ;  for  while 
that  precept  prohibits  the  taking  of  God's  name  in  vain,  it 
sanctions  swearing  by  the  name  of  God  on  lawful  occasions. 
The  practice  is  confirmed  by  numerous  approved  examples 
under  the  Old  Testament.  Abraham  sware  to  Abimelech 
that  he  would  not  deal  falsely  with  him. — Gen.  xxi.  23,  24. 
A  king  of  the  same  name  desired  that  an  oath  might  be 
between  Isaac  and  him ;  and  they  sware  one  to  another. — 
Gen.  xxvi.  31.  In  like  manner  Jacob  sware  to  Laban  (Gen. 
xxxi.  53);  and  Joseph  sware  to  his  father. — Gen.  xlvii.  31. 
All  these  examples  occurred  before  the  Mosaic  law  was  given 
to  the  Jews,  and  therefore  an  oath  can  be  no  peculiarity  of 
the  Mosaic  dispensation.  But  that  law  expressly  recognised 
the  warrantableness  of  taking  an  oath  (Lev.  v.  1),  and  un- 
der that  dispensation  we  have  various  examples  of  holy  men 
swearing  by  the  name  of  God.  Thus  Jonathan  required 
David  to  swear  unto  him  (1  Sam.  xx.  17) ;  and  David  also 
sware  unto  Saul. — 1  Sam.  xxiv.  21, 22.  The  taking  of  an  oath 
being  no  part  of  the  judicial,  or  of  the  ceremonial  law,  it  must 
be  equally  warrantable  under  the  present  dispensation,  un- 
less expressly  prohibited  in  the  New  Testament.  But  there 
is  much  in  the  New  Testament  to  confirm  the  practice.  The 
Apostle  Paul  frequently  appeals  to  God  in  these  and  similar 
expressions :  "  God  is  my  witness :  " — "  I  say  the  truth  in 
Christ,  I  lie  not"  (Rom.  i.  9,  ix.  1) :  "I  call  God  for  a  record  upon 
my  soul." — 2  Cor.  i.  23.  Christ  himself  answered  the  ques- 
tion of  the  high  priest,  when  he  adjured  him  by  the  living 
God;  which  was  the  common  form  of  administering  an  oath 
among  the  Jews.  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews  speaks  of  the 
oath  which  God  sware  to  Abraham,  "  who,  because  he  could 
swear  by  no  greater,  sware  by  himself;"  and  he  adds,  "An 


238  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXII. 

oath  for  confirmation  is  an  end  of  all  strife"  (Heb.  vi.  13, 16); 
plainly  showing  that  he  sanctioned  the  practice.  It  must  be 
evident,  therefore,  that  our  Saviour's  words  (Matt.  v.  34), 
"Swear  not  at  all,"  and  the  similar  words  of  the  Apostle 
James  (v.  12),  do  not  absolutely  prohibit  all  swearing  on 
necessary  and  solemn  occasions  ;  but  only  forbid  the  practice 
of  swearing  in  common  conversation,  and  particularly  of 
swearing  by  creatures.  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that 
an  appeal  to  God  in  trivial  matters,  and  the  frequent  and  un- 
necessary repetition  of  the  same  oath,  is  a  taking  the  name 
of  God  in  vain.  And  it  may  also  be  observed,  that  as  the 
lifting  up  of  the  hand  is  the  usual  mode  of  swearing  men- 
tioned in  Scripture  (Gen.  xiv.  22;  Rev.  x.  5,  6),  so  it 
ought  to  be  preferred ;  and  all  superstitious  forms  ought  to 
be  rejected. 

4.  An  oath  ought  to  be  taken  "  in  truth,  in  righteousness, 
and  in  judgment." — Jer.  iv.  2.  In  truth;  that  is,  with  an 
entire  correspondence  between  the  sentiments  of  the  mind 
and  the  words  of  the  oath,  in  their  common  obvious  mean- 
ing, and  as  understood  by  those  who  administer  it ;  without 
any  equivocation  and  mental  reservation.  To  allow  of  mental 
reservation  in  swearing,  as  the  Church  of  Rome  in  certain 
cases  does,  is  to  defeat  the  very  end  of  an  oath,  to  destroy 
all  confidence  among  men,  and  to  involve  the  swearer  in  the 
heinous  sin  of  perjury.  In  righteousness;  that  is,  in  things  law- 
ful and  possible  for  us  at  the  time  of  swearing,  and  with  a 
fixed  intention  to  perform  what  we  pledge  ourselves  to  do. 
In  judgment;  that  is,  deliberately  and  reverently,  well  consider- 
ing whether  the  matter  of  the  oath  be  good  and  just,  and 
whether  the  ends  proposed  be  sufficient  to  justify  us  in  inter- 
posing the  glorious  and  dreadful  name  of  God  for  a  pledge  of 
the  truth  of  our  declarations. 

5.  A  lawful  oath  binds  to  performance.  Oaths  engaging 
persons  to  what  is  sinful  are  in  themselves  null  and  void; 
and  they  who  have  rashly  taken  such  oaths  ought  to  repent 
of  and  renounce  them,  instead  of  adding  the  sin  of  keeping 
to  the  sin  of  making  them,  as  Herod  most  wickedly  did  in 
beheading  John  the  Baptist  for  the  sake  of  his  oath. — Mark 
vi.  23,  26.  But  a  lawful  oath  is  binding,  though  the  perfor- 
mance may  be  prejudicial  to  a  man's  temporal  interest;  and  it 
is  the  character  of  a  good  man,  that  though  "  he  swears  to  his 
own  hurt,  he  changes  not." — Ps.  xv.  4.  It  is  a  detestable 
principle  of  the  Romish  Church,  that  "faith  is  not  to  be 
kept  with  heretics." 

Section  V. — A  vow  is  of  the  like  nature  with  a  pro- 


SECT.  5-7.]         OF  LAWFUL  OATHS  AND  VOWS.  239 

missory  oath,  and  ought  to  he  made  with  the  like 
religious  care,  and  to  be  performed  with  the  like  faith- 
fulness.13 

Section  VI It  is  not  to  he  made  to  any  creature, 

but  to  God  alone : 14  and  that  it  may  be  accepted,  it  is 
to  be  made  voluntarily,  out  of  faith  and  conscience  of 
duty,  in  way  of  thankfulness  for  mercy  received,  or  for 
the  obtaining  of  what  we  want;  whereby  we  more  strictly 
bind  ourselves  to  necessary  duties,  or  to  other  things,  so 
far  and  so  long  as  they  may  fitly  conduce  thereunto.15 

Section  VII. — No  man  may  vow  to  do  anything 
forbidden  in  the  Word  of  God,  or  what  would  hinder 
any  duty  therein  commanded,  or  which  is  not  in  his 
own  power,  and  for  the  performance  whereof  he  hath  no 
promise  of  ability  from  God.16  In  which  respects 
Popish  monastical  vows  of  perpetual  single  life,  pro- 
fessed poverty,  and  regular  obedience,  are  so  far  from 
being  degrees  of  higher  perfection,  that  they  are  super- 
stitious and  sinful  snares,  in  which  no  Christian  may 
entangle  himself.17 


13  Isa.   xix.  21.      Eccl.  v.  4-6.     Ps. 

lxi.  8;  lxvi.  13,  14. 

14  Ps.  lxxvi.  11.    Jer.  xliv.  25,  26. 

'6  Deut.  xxiii.  21-23.  Ps.  1.  14.  Gen. 
xxviii.  20-22.  1  Sam.  i.  11.  Ps. 
lxvi.  13,  14;  cxxxii.  2-5. 


6  Acts  xxiii.  12,  14.      Mark  vi.  26. 

Numb.  xxx.  5,  8,  12,  13. 
L7  Matt.  xix.  11,  12.     1    Cor.  vii.  2,  9. 

Eph.  iv.  28.   1  Pet.  iv.  2.   1  Cor. 

vii.  23. 


EXPOSITION. 

These  sections  relate  to  the  nature,  the  matter,  and  the 
obligation  of  a  vow. 

A  vow  is  a  solemn  promise  made  to  God,  and  may  be 
either  personal  or  social.  Although  a  vow  is  "  of  the  like 
nature  with  a  promissory  oath,"  yet  they  admit  of  being  dis- 
tinguished. In  an  oath,  man  is  generally  the  party,  and  God 
is  invoked  as  the  witness ;  hi  a  tow,  God  is  both  the  party 
and  the  witness.  A  vow  is  to  be  made  to  God  alone; 
and,  therefore,  to  make  vows  to  saints  departed,  as  Papists 
do,  is  superstitious  and  idolatrous.  Vows  ought  to  be  en- 
tered into  voluntarily,  and  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  or  in  de- 
pendence upon  the  grace  of  Christ  for  enabling  us  to  per- 
form them.— Phil.  iv.  13;  2  Cor.  xii.  9. 

Persons  may  bind  themselves  by  a  vow,  either  to  neces- 
sary duties  or  to  other  things  not  expressly  required,  so  far 
and  so  long  as  they  may  be  conducive  to  the  better  perfor- 


240  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIII. 

mance  of  these  duties.  But  no  man  may  vow  to  do  any- 
thing which  is  either  unlawful  or  which  is  not  in  his  own 
power,  and  for  the  performance  of  which  he  has  no  promise 
of  ability  from  God. 

A  vow  has  an  intrinsic  obligation,  distinct  from  the  obli- 
gation of  the  law  of  God.  In  the  law,  God  binds  us  by  his  I 
authoritative  command;  in  a  vow,  we  bind  ourselves  by  our 
own  voluntary  engagement.  To  represent  a  vow  as  laying 
no  new  or  superadded  obligation  on  the  conscience,  or  to 
maintain,  as  some  Popish  writers  do,  that  a  vow  does  not 
bind  us  in  moral  duties  commanded  by  the  law  of  God,  be- 
cause our  vow  cannot  add  any  obligation  to  his  law,  is  mani- 
festly absurd.  It  is  equally  contrary  to  Scripture  and  to  the 
common  sense  of  mankind.  The  law  of  God  obliges ;  this  is 
the  primary  obligation.  But  a  vow  also  obliges;  this  is  the 
secondary  obligation.  And  subordinate  things  oppose  not 
each  other.  The  performance  of  vows  is  frequently  and 
strictly  enjoined  in  the  Word  of  God.  "  When  thou  shalt 
vow  a  vow  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,"  says  Moses,  "  thou  shalt 
not  slack  to  pay  it ;  for  the  Lord  thy  God  will  surely  require 
it  of  thee;  and  it  would  be  sin  in  thee." — Deut.  xxiii.21;  see 
also  Eccl.  v.  4;  Ps.  1.  14,  lxxvi.  11. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OF  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE. 

Section  I. — God,  the  supreme  Lord  and  King  of  all 
the  world,  hath  ordained  civil  magistrates  to  be  under 
him  over  the  people,  for  his  own  glory  and  the  public 
good;  and,  to  this  end,  hath  armed  them  with  the 
power  of  the  sword,  for  the  defence  and  encouragement 
of  them  that  are  good,  and  for  the  punishment  of  evil- 
doers.1 

Section  II. — It  is  lawful  for  Christians  to  accept  and 
execute  the  office  of  a  magistrate,  when  called  there- 

»  Rom.xiii.  1-4.    1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14. 


SECT.  1,  2.]         OF  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE.  241 

unto : 2  in  the  managing  whereof,  as  they  ought  especially 
to  maintain  piety,  justice,  and  peace,  according  to  the 
wholesome  laws  of  each  commonwealth ; 3  so,  for  that 
end,  they  may  lawfully,  now  under  the  New  Testament, 
wage  war  upon  just  and  necessary  occasions.4 


2  Prov.  viii.  15, 16.  Rom.  xiii.  1, 2,  4. 

3  Ps.   ii.   10-12.      1  Tim.  ii.  2.     Ps. 

lxxxii.  3,  4.  2   Sam.  xxiii.   3. 
1  Pet.  ii.  13. 


4  Luke  iii.  14.  Rom.  xiii.  4.  Matt, 
viii.  9,  10.  Acts  x.  1,  2.  Rev. 
xvii.  14.  16 


EXPOSITION. 

The  Sacred  Scriptures  are  a  perfect  "  rule  of  faith  and 
manners."  They  prescribe  the  duty  incumbent  upon  men 
in  every  station  and  relation,  whether  as  members  of  the 
Church  or  of  the  commonwealth — whether  as  rulers  or  as 
subjects.  Any  summary  of  Christian  doctrine,  therefore, 
which  did  not  exhibit  the  duty  of  civil  rulers,  especially  in 
reference  to  religion  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  would  be 
extremely  defective.  This  subject,  accordingly,  occupies  a 
prominent  place  in  the  Confessions  of  all  the  Reformed 
Churches;  and  the  harmony  of  these  Confessions  is  a  strong 
•presumptive  proof  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
on  this  interesting  topic  is  neither  ambiguous  nor  "  hard  to 
be  understood." 

It  is  true  that  sects  have  sprung  up,  at  various  periods, 
which  have  held  principles  subversive  of  all  civil  govern- 
ment, and  hostile  especially  to  all  interference  of  the  civil 
magistrate  about  matters  of  religion.  The  German  Anabap- 
tists who,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  produced  such  dreadful 
commotions,  maintained  that,  "in  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
civil  magistrates  were  absolutely  useless."  And  even  after 
their  principles  were  modified  by  Menno,  they  "  neither  ad- 
mitted civil  rulers  into  their  communion,  nor  allowed  any  of 
their  members  to  perform  the  functions  of  magistracy." 
They  also  denied  "the  lawfulness  of  repelling  force  by 
force,  and  considered  war,  in  all  its  shapes,  as  unchristian 
and  unjust."  *  Similar  sentiments  were  broached  by  the 
English  sectaries,  at  the  period  when  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly was  sitting.  Among  the  many  pernicious  errors 
vented  at  that  time,  we  find  the  following  : — "  That  'tis  not 
lawful  for  a  Christian  to  be  a  magistrate;  but,  upon  turning 
Christian,  he  should  lay  down  his  magistracy :  That  it  is 
unlawful  for  Christians  to  fight,  and  take  up  arms  for  their 
laws  and  civil  liberties."  t     It  is  well  known  that  the  lawful- 

*  Mosheim's  Eccl.  Hist.,  cent,  xvi.,  sect.  3,  part  2,  chap.  3,  cap.  5,  16. 

♦  Edwards'  Gangraena,  part  i.,  pp.  29,  30. 


242  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIII. 

ness  of  war  is  still  denied  by  the  Society  of  Friends,  or 
Quakers. 

In  opposition  to  such  opinions,  our  Confession  here  teaches 
— I.  That  magistracy  or  civil  government  is  the  ordinance 
of  God.  II.  That  magistrates  are  appointed  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  public  good,  in  subordination  to  the  glory  of 
God.  III.  That  Christians  may  lawfully  accept  the  office  of 
a  magistrate.  IV.  That  magistrates  ought  to  maintain  piety 
as  well  as  peace  and  justice.  V.  That  they  may  lawfully, 
now  under  the  New  Testament,  wage  war  upon  just  and  ne- 
cessary occasions. 

I.  Magistracy,  or  civil  government,  is  the  ordinance  of 
God.  Several  eminent  writers  have  supposed  that  govern- 
ment is  founded  in  the  social  compact;  but  it  has  been  more 
generally  held  that  government  is  founded  in  the  will  of 
God.  *  When  it  is  asserted  that  magistracy  is  a  divine  in- 
stitution, it  is  not  meant  that  it  is  of  direct  and  express  di- 
vine appointment,  like  the  office  of  the  gospel  ministry.  No- 
thing more  is  intended  than  that  government  is  agreeable  to 
the  will  of  God.  It  is  his  will  that  the  happiness  of  mankind 
be  promoted.  But  government  is  indispensable  to  their  hap- 
piness— to  the  preservation  of  peace  and  order — to  the  safety 
of  life,  liberty,  and  property.  Nay,  it  is  necessary  to  the 
very  existence  of  any  considerable  number  of  mankind  in  a 
social  state.  The  deduction  natively  follows,  that  it  is  the 
will  of  God  that  government  should  exist;  and  this  deduction 
of  reason  is  amply  confirmed  by  the  express  declaration  of 
an  inspired  apostle  :  "  There  is  no  power  but  of  God ;  the 
powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever,  therefore, 
resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God." — Rom. 
xiii.  1,  2.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  magistracy  was  instituted 
by  God,  as  the  moral  Governor  of  the  world,  and  is  not 
derived  from  Christ  as  Mediator.  This  forms  an  important 
distinction  between  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  powers. 
"  The  King  of  nations,"  says  Gillespie,  "  hath  instituted  the 
civil  power ;  the  King  of  saints  hath  instituted  the  ecclesi- 
astical power.  I  mean,  the  most  high  God,  possessor  of 
heaven  and  earth,  who  exerciseth  sovereignty  over  the  work- 
manship of  his  own  hands,  and  so  over  all  mankind,  hath  in- 
stituted magistrates  to  be  in  his  stead,  as  gods  upon  earth ; 
but  Jesus  Christ,  as  Mediator  and  King  of  the  Church,  whom 
his  Father  hath  set  upon  his  holy  hill  of  Zion  (Ps.  ii.  6),  to 
*  Among  those  who  have  pleaded  for  a  social  compact  as  the  foundation 
of  government,  the  venerable  name  of  Locke  may  be  specified;  and  among 
those  who  have  advocated  the  opposite  opinion,  we  may  refer  to  Paley 
■'  Moral  and  political  Philosophy,"  book  vi.,  chap.  3)  and  to  Dwight 
(Ser.  113). 


SECT.  1,  2.]  OF  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE.  243 

reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever  (Luke  i.  33),  who 
hath  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  upon  his  shoulder  (Isa. 
xxii.  22),  hath  instituted  an  ecclesiastical  power  and  govern- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Church  officers,  whom,  in  his  name,  he 
sendeth  forth."  *  It  may  be  further  remarked,  that,  although 
God  has  instituted  civil  government,  yet  he  has  not  enjoined 
any  one  form  of  government  as  obligatory  upon  all  commu- 
nities ;  he  has  left  it  free  to  the  several  countries  to  choose 
that  form  which  they  think  fittest  for  themselves ;  and  in 
this  respect  the  Apostle  Peter  calls  it  "  the  ordinance  of 
man."— 1  Pet.  ii.  13. 

II.  Magistrates  are  appointed  for  the  promotion  of  the  pub-  | 
lie  good,  in  subordination  to  the  glory  of  God.  Magistrates 
are  called  "  the  ministers  of  God  for  good." — Rom.  xiii.  4. 
They  are  invested  with  dignity  and  power,  not  for  their  own 
honour  and  advantage,  but  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  so- 
ciety ;  especially  "  for  the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  and  for 
the  praise  of  them  that  do  well."  As  this  is  the  design  of 
civil  government,  so  this  end  is  in  some  measure  gained  even 
by  the  worst  of  governments.  But  when  this  design  is  sys- 
tematically and  notoriously  disregarded — when  rulers  become 
habitual  tyrants,  invading  and  overthrowing  the  liberties  and 
privileges  of  the  nation — the  governed  must  have  a  right  to 
remedy  the  evil.  This  is  a  principle  essential  to  true  liberty, 
and  it  was  acted  upon  in  our  own  country  at  the  Revolution. 

III.  Christians  may  lawfully  accept  of  the  office  of  a  magis- 
trate. It  cannot  be  questioned  that,  under  the  former  dis- 
pensation, some  of  the  most  pious  men,  such  as  David, 
Josiah,  and  Hezekiah,  exercised  this  office  with  the  divine 
approbation.  There  are  also  many  predictions  which  clearly 
intimate  that  Christians  should  execute  this  office  under  the 
New  Testament  dispensation. — Isa.  xlix.  23;  Ps.  Ixxii.  10, 1 1. 
Those  who  consider  it  unlawful  for  Christians  to  bear  such  an 
office,  chiefly  rest  their  opinion  upon  the  example  of  Christ 
(Luke  xii.  14),  and  upon  his  declaration  to  his  disciples. — 
Matt.  xx.  25,  26.  But  though  Christ  came  not  to  exercise 
temporal  dominion,  and  though  he  repressed  the  ambitious 
temper  which  then  manifested  itself  among  his  apostles,  and 
interdicted  them  and  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  succeed- 
ing ages  from  holding  such  an  office,  this  does  not  exclude 
all  Christians  from  executing  that  function.  Were  it  un- 
lawful for  Christians  to  accept  of  the  office  of  a  magistrate, 
it  would  follow,  either  that  there  must  be  no  magistrate  at 
all  in  Christian  countries — which  would  involve  them  in 
anarchy  and  dissolution — or  else,  that  magistrates  who  are  not 

*  Gillespie's  Aaron's  Ilod,  p.  185. 


244  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £CHAP.  XXIII. 

Christians  must  be  established  among  them ;  and  who  does 
not  perceive  the  absurdity  of  this  ?  * 

IV.  Christian  magistrates  ought  to  maintain  piety,  as  well 
as  justice  and  peace.  The  apostle  (2  Tim.  ii.  1)  exhorts, 
that  prayers  be  made  by  Christians  "  for  kings,  and  for  all 
that  are  in  authority ;  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peace- 
able life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty."  "  What  Christians  are 
here  to  pray  for,  that  magistrates  must  be  bound  to  promote 
as  their  end ;  and  this  is  not  simply  '  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life,'  but  '  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.'  Rulers  are  not,  in 
their  official  capacity,  to  be  indifferent  to  godliness  any  more 
than  to  honesty;  both  are  to  be  countenanced  and  promoted 
by  them.— Ezra  vi.  8-10."  t 

V.  Christian  magistrates  may  lawfully,  now  under  the  New 
Testament,  wage  war  upon  just  and  necessary  occasions.  War 
must  be  regarded  as  a  great  evil,  but  in  the  present  state  of 
the  world  it  is  sometimes  necessary;  and  if  a  nation  were  to 
adopt  and  act  upon  the  principle  that  war  is  absolutely  un- 
lawful, it  would  soon  become  a  prey  to  its  ambitious  neigh- 
bours. Under  the  Old  Testament,  wars  were  undertaken  by 
the  express  command  and  with  the  approbation  of  God;  but 
he  could  never  command  and  approve  of  what  is  morally 
wrong.  In  the  New  Testament,  too,  there  are  various  cir- 
cumstances stated  which  countenance  the  lawfulness  of  ma- 
gistrates waging  war,  and  of  Christians  bearing  arms.  When 
the  soldiers  inquired  of  John  what  they  should  do,  he  said 
unto  them,  "  Do  violence  to  no  man,  neither  accuse  any 
falsely.;"  but  he  did  not  command  them  to  relinquish  their 
profession,  as  unlawful ;  on  the  contrary,  the  precept  which 
he  added,  "  Be  content  with  your  wages,"  supposed  them  to 
continue  in  their  situation. — Luke  iii.  14.  The  first  Gentile 
convert  who  was  received  into  the  Christian  Church  was  a 
centurion ;  but  Peter,  when  he  baptized  him,  did  not  require 
him  to  give  up  his  situation  in  the  Roman  army. — Acts  x. 
To  determine  the  several  cases  in  which  war  may  be  justi- 
fiable would  be  out  of  place  here ;  it  may,  however,  be  gene- 
rally stated,  that  aggressive  wars,  or  such  as  are  undertaken 
to  gratify  views  of  ambition  or  worldly  aggrandizement,  can- 
not be  justified;  but  that  defensive  wars,  or  those  which,  as 
to  the  first  occasion  of  them,  are  defensive,  though  in  their 
progress  they  must  often  be  offensive,  are  lawful. 

Section  III. — The  civil  magistrate  may  not  assume 

*  Calvin's  Inst.,  book  iv.,  chap.  20,  sect.  4,  5.    Doddridge's  Lectures,  vol 
ii.,  p.  253. 
f  M'Crie's  Statement,  p.  139 


SECT.  3.]  OP  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE. 


245 


to  himself  the  administration  of  the  "Word  and  sacra- 
ments, or  the  power  of  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ; 5  yet  he  hath  authority,  and  it  is  his  duty,  to 
take  order,  that  unity  and  peace  be  preserved  in  the 
Church,  that  the  truth  of  God  be  kept  pure  and  entire, 
that  all  blasphemies  and  heresies  be  suppressed,  all 
corruptions  and  abuses  in  worship  and  discipline  pre- 
vented or  reformed,  and  all  the  ordinances  of  God  duly 
settled,  administered,  and  observed.6  For  the  better 
effecting  whereof,  he  hath  power  to  call  synods,  to  be 
present  at  them,  and  to  provide  that  whatsoever  is 
transacted  in  them  be  according  to  the  mind  of  God.7 


6  2  Chron.  xxvi.  18.     Matt,  xviii.  17; 

xvi.  19.  1  Cor.  xii.  28,  29.  Eph. 

iv.  11,  12.    1  Cor.  iv.  1,2.  Rom. 

x.  15.     Heb.  v.  4. 
«  Isa.  xlix.  23.      Ps.  cxxii.  9.     Ezra 

vii.  23,  26-28.    Lev.  xxiv.   16. 


Deut.  xiii.  5,  6,  12.  2  Kings 
xviii.  4.  1  Chron.  xiii.  1-9.  2 
Kings  xxiii.  1-26.  2  Chron. 
xxxiv.  33;  xv.  12,  13. 
2  Chron.  xix.  8-11;  xxix.,  xxx. 
Matt.  ii.  4,  5. 


EXPOSITION. 

In  this  section  it  was  manifestly  the  object  of  the  com- 
pilers of  our  Confession  to  guard  equally  against  Erastian 
and  Sectarian  principles.  In  opposition  to  Erastian  principles, 
according  to  which  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Church  are  devolved  upon  the  civil  magistrate,  they  declare 
that  the  magistrate  may  not  take  upon  himself  either  the 
ministerial  dispensation  of  the  Word  and  sacraments,  or  any 
part  of  the  government  of  the  Church.  But  while  they  deny 
to  the  magistrate  all  ministerial  or  judicial  power  in  the 
Church,  in  opposition  to  Erastians,  yet,  to  guard  against  the 
other  extreme,  they  assert,  in  opposition  to  the  Sectarians 
of  that  age,  that  it  is  his  duty  to  employ  his  influence  and 
authority,  in  every  way  competent  to  him,  for  the  good  of 
the  Church,  and  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  true 
religion. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  parties  holding  the  most 
opposite  views,  in  regard  to  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate 
about  religion  and  the  connection  between  Church  and  State, 
have  concurred  in  representing  this  section  of  our  Confession 
as  allowing  to  the  civil  magistrate  a  controlling  power  in  and 
over  the  Church.  The  defenders  of  the  recent  interferences 
of  the  civil  courts  in  matters  strictly  ecclesiastical,  now  homo- 
logated by  the  State  or  Legislature,  have  appealed  to  this 
section  as  sanctioning  these  interferences.  The  opponents 
of  all  civil  establishments  of  religion,  on  the  other  liand,  have 


246  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  ("CHAP.  XXIII. 

put  the  same  construction  on  this  section,  and  have  alleged 
that  it  does  allow  to  the  civil  magistrate  an  Erastian  power 
in  and  over  the  Church.  "This,  if  true,  would  be  very- 
strange,  considering  that  the  Assembly  who  compiled  it  were 
engaged  in  a  dispute  against  this  very  claim  with  the  Parlia- 
ment under  whose  protection  they  sat ;  and  that,  owing  to 
their  steady  refusal  to  concede  that  power  to  the  State  (in 
which  they  were  supported  by  the  whole  body  of  Presby- 
terians), the  erection  of  presbyteries  and  synods  in  England 
was  suspended."  *  Independently  of  this  important  fact,  it 
would  be  easy  to  adduce  numerous  declarations  from  the 
Confession  itself  more  than  sufficient  to  repel  the  imputation. 
These  declarations  will  come  under  our  consideration  after- 
wards, and  at  present  we  only  remark,  that  the  Confession 
must  "be  presumed  to  be  consistent  with  itself;  and  if  some 
detached  phrases  in  this  section  may  be  thought  to  admit  of 
a  construction  unfavourable  to  the  freedom  and  independence 
of  the  Church,  yet  if  these  phrases  are  susceptible  of  an  in- 
terpretation which  harmonizes  with  other  explicit  declara- 
tions respecting  the  independence  of  the  Church  and  the 
sole  headship  of  Christ  over  it,  that  interpretation  ought 
certainly  to  be  received  as  their  true  and  intended  import.  * 
Before  proceeding  to  explain  the  several  clauses  of  this 
section,  it  will  be  proper  to  offer  a  few  general  remarks.  In ' 
the  first  place,  it  may  be  observed,  that  by  the  civil  magis- 
trate is  here  meant  the  State,  or  supreme  civil  power  of  the 
nation.  In  the  Confession,  and  in  theological  writings  in 
general,  the  civil  magistrate  means,  not  the  sovereign,  acting 
singly  and  exclusively,  but  the  government  of  the  country, 
or  the  power  which  is  entitled  to  frame  the  national  laws, 
and  to  regulate  national  measures.  In  the  second  place,  it  is 
unquestionable,  that  what  the  Confession  here  teaches  respect- 
ing the  duty  of  the  civil  magistrate,  belongs  to  him  as  a 
magistrate ;  for  it  says,  "  He  hath  authority  "  to  do  what  is 
ascribed  to  him.  He  is  to  discharge  the  duty  here  assigned 
to  him,  not  merely  by  his  advice  and  example,  as  a  Christian 
placed  in  an  exalted  station,  but  by  his  official  authority  and 
influence  as  a  magistrate.  But,  in  the  third  place,  it  is  not 
less  evident,  that  our  Confession  here  speaks  of  such  a  magis- 
trate as  is  also  a  Christian,  making  a  profession  of  the  true  re- 
ligion. To  suppose  that  any  other  than  a  Christian  magis- 
trate can  do  the  things  here  ascribed  to  the  magistrate,  is  an 
absurdity  too  gross  to  be  imputed  to  the  Confession.  In  the 
fourth  place,  our  Confession  here  teaches,  that  the  advance- 
ment of  religion,  and  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the 
*  M'Crie's  Appendix,  p.  138. 


SECT.  3.]  OF  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE.  247 

Church  of  Christ,  form  an  important  part  of  the  official  duty 
of  Christian  magistrates.  Although  the  proper  and  immediate 
end  of  civil  government,  in  subordination  to  God's  glory,  is 
the  temporal  good  of  men,  yet  the  advancement  of  religion 
is  an  end  which  civil  rulers,  in  the  exercise  of  their  civil 
authority,  are  bound  to  aim  at;  for  even  this  direct  end  of 
their  office  cannot  be  gained  without  the  aids  of  religion. 
And  although  magistracy  has  its  foundation  in  natural  prin- 
ciples, and  Christianity  invests  civil  rulers  with  no  new 
powers,  yet  it  greatly  enlarges  the  sphere  of  the  operation 
of  that  power  which  they  possess,  as  civil  rulers,  from  the 
law  of  nature.  That  law  binds  the  subjects  of  God's  moral 
government,  jointly  and  severally,  to  embrace  and  reduce  to 
practice  whatsoever  God  is  pleased  to  reveal  as  the  rule  of 
their  faith  and  duty.  And  therefore  nations  and  their  rulers, 
when  favoured  with  divine  revelation,  should  give  their  public 
countenance  to  the  true  religion;  remove  everything  out  of 
their  civil  constitution  inconsistent  with  it,  or  tending  to 
retard  its  progress;  support  and  protect  its  functionaries  in 
the  discharge  of  their  duty;  and  provide,  in  every  way  com- 
petent to  them,  that  its  salutary  influence  have  free  course, 
and  be  diffused  through  all  orders  and  departments  of  society. 
The  compilers  of  our  Confession  had  not  imbibed  the  doc- 
trine, that  the  exercise  of  the  magistrate's  authority  must 
be  limited  to  the  secular  affairs  of  men,  and  that  it  is  no  part 
of  his  duty,  in  his  official  capacity,  to  aim  at  the  promotion 
of  the  true  religion.  "  Certainly,"  said  an  eminent  member 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  "  there  is  much  power  and 
authority,  which  by  the  Word  of  God,  and  by  the  Confes- 
sions of  Faith  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  doth  belong  to  the 
Christian  magistrate,  in  matters  of  religion."* 

But  while  our  Confession  undeniably  teaches,  that  the 
civil  magistrate  is  authorised  to  do  something  about  religion 
and  the  Church  of  Christ ;  yet  it  lays  certain  restrictions  and 
limitations  upon  the  exercise  of  his  authority  in  regard  to 
these  matters.  According  to  our  Confession,  the  civil  magis- 
trate must  not  assume  a  lordly  supremacy  over  the  Church; 
for  "  there  is  no  other  head  of  the  Church,  but  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." — Chap,  xxv.,  sect.  6.  He  must  not  interfere  with 
her  internal  government;  for  "  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  king  and 
head  of  his  Church,  hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in 
the  hand  of  Church-officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magis- 
trate ; "  and  "  to  these  officers  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  are  committed." — Chap,  xxx.,  sect.  1,  2.  He  must 
not,  as  a  magistrate,  sustain  himself  a  public  judge  of  true  or 
*  Gillespie's  Aaron's  Rod,  p.  181, 


248  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH*  [CHAF.  XXIII. 

false  religion,  so  as  to  dictate  to  his  subjects  in  matters  purely 
religious;  for  "it  belongeth  to  synods  and  councils  minis- 
terially to  determine  controversies  of  faith  and  cases  of  con- 
science," &c. — Chap,  xxxi.,  sect.  3.  In  the  first  paragraph 
of  the  section  now  under  consideration,  there  is  another  im- 
portant limitation  of  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  re- 
gard to  the  Church.  It  is  expressly  declared,  that  he  may 
not  take  upon  himself  the  administration  of  her  ordinances 
of  worship :  "  He  may  not  assume  to  himself  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Word  and  sacraments."  Neither  may  he  take 
upon  himself  the  administration  of  the  government  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Church:  "  He  may  not  assume  to  himself  the 
power  of  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  keys,  in 
the  most  extensive  sense,  include  the  whole  ecclesiastical 
power,  in  distinction  from  the  sword,  or  the  civil  power.* 
But  "  the  power  of  the  keys,"  taken  in  its  more  limited  sense, 
as  it  must  be  here,  where  it  is  distinguished  from  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Word  and  sacraments,  just  means  the 
ordinary  power  of  government,  in  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Church;  and  more  particularly,  the  right  of 
authoritatively  and  judicially  determining  all  questions  that 
may  arise  as  to  the  admission  of  men  to  ordinances  and  to 
office  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  the  infliction  and  relaxa- 
tion of  Church  censures."f  This  is  not  the  only  restrictionlaid 
upon  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  the  present  sec- 
tion. It  is  also  plainly  intimated,  that,  in  the  execution  of 
the  duty  here  intrusted  to  him,  he  must  be  regulated  by  the 
Word  of  God.  He  is  not  to  act  arbitrarily,  but  must  be 
guided  by  the  standard  of  God's  Word.  In  regard  to  one 
important  branch  of  the  functions  here  assigned  to  him — that 
which  concerns  synods — it  is  expressly  declared,  that  he  is  to 
see  that  "  what  is  transacted  in  them  be  according  to  the 
mind  of  God" — the  mind  of  God,  as  revealed  in  his  Word, 
being  thus  distinctly  prescribed  as  a  rule  to  him,  as  it  is  to 
the  ordinary  members  of  synods,  t  This  principle  was 
admitted  by  the  Erastians  of  former  times;  for  they  conceded 
to  their  opponents,  "  that  the  Christian  magistrate,  in  order- 
ing and  disposing  of  ecclesiastical  causes  and  matters  of 
religion,  is  tied  to  keep  close  to  the  rule  of  the  Word  of  God; 
and  that  as  he  may  not  assume  an  arbitrary  government  of  the 
State,  so  far  less  of  the  Church."§  It  may  be  further  added, 
that,  according  to  our  Confession,  the  civil  magistrate  is  bound 

*  The  civil  power  is  called  the  power  of  the  sword,  and  the  other  (the 
ecclesiastical),  the  power  of  the  keys.— Second  Book  of  Discipline,  chap.  i. 

f  Cuningham's  Remarks  on  the  Twenty-third  Chapter  of  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  p.  12. 

J  Ibid.,  pp.  15-19.  §  Gillespie's  Aaron's  Rod,  p.  173. 


SECT.  3.]  OP  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE.  249 

to  act,  in  his  official  capacity,  "  according  to  the  wholesome 
laws  of  each  commonwealth." — Sect.  2.  Now,  as  our  Con- 
fession of  Faith  is  founded  upon  the  "Word  of  God,  so  it  is 
embodied  in  our  Statute- Book ;  and,  therefore,  when  civil 
rulers  assume  a  proper  jurisdiction  in  ecclesiastical  matters, 
which  the  Confession  has  denied  to  them,  their  proceedings 
must  be  inconsistent  at  once  with  the  Word  of  God  and  the 
law  of  the  land. 

Keeping  these  remarks  in  view,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to 
explain,  in  full  consistency  with  the  liberty  and  independence 
of  the  Church,  this  section  of  our  Confession.  The  civil 
magistrate,  it  is  declared,  "  hath  authority,  and  it  is  his  duty, 
to  take  order,"  &c.  This  cannot  mean,  that  he  is  to  accom- 
plish the  objects  specified  by  all  the  ways  in  which  it  may  be 
attempted;  for,  in  the  introductory  clause,  some  of  these  are 
carefully  excepted.  It  cannot  mean,  that  he  has  a  rightful 
jurisdiction  in  these  matters,  and  is  entitled  to  judge  and 
determine  them,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  the  regulation 
of  the  conduct  of  others;  for  this  would  be  to  usurp  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  can  only  imply,  that  the 
matters  specified  are  objects  which  he  is  entitled  and  bound 
to  aim  at,  and  to  effect  by  such  methods  as  are  competent  to 
him,  without  invading  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church. 

The  Confession  specifies  certain  means  which  the  civil  ma- 
gistrate may  lawfully  employ  for  effecting  the  objects  men- 
tioned :  "  For  the  better  effecting  whereof,  he  hath  power  to 
call  synods."  From  this  it  cannot  be  inferred  that  ministers 
have  not  a  power  to  meet  of  themselves  in  synods  and  assem- 
blies, without  being  called  by  the  civil  magistrate;  for  in 
chapter  xxxi.  it  is  expressly  declared  that  they  have  such 
power  u  of  themselves,  and  by  virtue  of  their  office."  The 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  indeed,  were  of 
opinion  that,  in  the  chapter  now  referred  to,  the  Confession 
is  not  sufficiently  explicit  in  regard  to  the  intrinsic  power  of 
the  Church  to  call  her  own  assemblies ;  and  accordingly,  in 
their  Act  of  1647,  by  which  the  Confession  was  approved, 
they  expressly  declare  that  they  understood  that  part  of  it 
"  only  of  kirks  not  settled  or  constituted  in  point  of  govern- 
ment ;"  and  that  explanation  must  apply  equally  to  the  sec- 
tion now  before  us.  Our  Confession,  then,  does  not  assert 
that  the  magistrate  may  exercise  this  power  on  all  occasions, 
and  in  all  circumstances,  or  whenever  there  are  any  evils  of 
a  religious  kind  to  correct.  It  is  sufficient  that  there  may  be 
times  and  circumstances  in  which  he  may  warrantably  exer- 
cise this  power.  When  the  state  of  the  nation  as  well  as  of 
the  Church  may  be  convulsed,  and  its  convulsions  may  be  in 


250  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  XXIII. 

a  great  degree  owing  to  religious  disorders,  it  is  surely  a  high 
duty  incumbent  on  him  to  take  such  a  step,  provided  he  finds 
it  practicable  and  advisable.  And  such  was  the  state  of  mat- 
ters when  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  convoked  by  the 
Parliament  of  England. 

After  stating  that  the  magistrate  has  power  to  call  synods, 

it  is  added,  "  To  be  present  at  them,  and  to  proWde  that 

whatsoever  is  transacted  in  them  be  according  to  the  mind 

\    of  God."     "  Not  to  insist  here,"  to  use  the  language  of  Dr 

tM'Crie,  "  that  these  words  ought,  in  fair  construction,  to  be 
understood  of  such  synods  as  have  been  convoked  by  the  ma- 
gistrate, what  ~9asonable  objection  can  be  made  to  his  being 
present?  May  he  not  claim  a  right  to  be  present  at  any 
public  meeting  within  his  dominions  ? — may  he  not  be  present 
in  a  synod  to  witness  their  proceedings,  to  preserve  their  ex- 
ternal peace,  to  redress  their  grievances,  or  (why  not  ?)  to 
receive  their  advice  or  admonitions  ?  But,  if  it  be  supposed 
that  his  presence  is  necessary  to  give  validity  to  their  pro- 
ceedings, and  that  he  sits  as  preses  of  their  meeting,  or  as 
director  of  their  deliberations  and  votes,  I  shall  only  say,  that 
the  words  of  the  Confession  give  not  the  slightest  counte- 
nance to  such  claims,  which  are  utterly  inconsistent  with  the 
common  principles  of  Presbyterians,  and,  in  particular,  with 
the  well-known  and  avowed  principles  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land. A  similar  answer  may  be  given  to  the  objection  against 
the  last  clause  of  the  paragraph.  May  not  any  Christian, 
whatever  his  station  be,  '  provide  that  whatsoever  is  transact- 
ed,' even  in  synods,  *  be  according  to  the  mind  of  God  ?'  If  the 
legislature  or  government  of  a  nation  have  a  special  care  about 
religion,  or  if  there  is  any  particular  duty  at  all  which  they 
have  to  discharge  respecting  it,  and  particularly,  if  they  have 
power  in  any  case  to  call  synods,  must  it  not  in  a  special  man- 
ner be  incumbent  on  them  to  see  to  this  ?  Nor  does  this  im- 
ply that  they  are  in  possession  of  any  ecclesiastical  powers, 
or  that  they  pass  a  public  judgment  on  true  and  false  religion. 
Their  private  judgment  is  sufficient  to  regulate  them  in  their 
public  managements  in  this  as  well  as  on  many  other  subjects 
about  which  they  exercise  their  authority,  without  sustaining 
themselves  as  the  proper  judges  of  them,  as  in  the  case  of 
many  arts  and  sciences  which  they  patronize  and  encourage. 
Must  not  Christian  rulers,  judges,  and  magistrates,  provide 
that  'whatsoever  is  transacted'  by  themselves  '  be  according 
to  the  mind  of  God?'  Is  it  not  highly  fit  that  they  should 
be  satisfied,  and  that  they  should,  by  every  proper  means,  pro- 
vide, that  the  determinations  of  synods  be  according  to  the 
mind  of  God,  if  they  are  afterwards  to  legalize  them,  or  if 


SECT.  4.]  OF  THE  CIVIL  MAGISTRATE.  251 

they  are  to  use  their  authority  for  removing  all  external  ob- 
structions out  of  the  way  of  their  being  carried  into  eifect; 
both  of  which  they  may  do,  without  imposing  them  on  the 
consciences  of  their  subjects  ?  And,  in  fine,  are  there  not 
various  ways  in  which  they  may  provide,  as  here  stated, 
without  assuming  a  power  foreign  to  their  office,  or  intruding 
on  the  proper  business  of  synods,  or  ecclesiastical  courts? 
But  if  it  be  supposed  that  the  magistrate,  as  the  proper  judge 
in  such  matters,  is  to  control  the  deliberations  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical assembly — to  prescribe  and  dictate  to  them  what 
their  decisions  shall  be ;  or  that,  when  they  have  deliberated 
and  decided,  he  may  receive  appeals  from  their  decisions,  or 
may  bring  the  whole  before  his  ti'ibunal,  and  review,  alter, 
and  reverse  their  sentences,  I  have  only  to  say,  as  formerly, 
that  the  words  of  the  Confession  give  not  the  slightest  coun- 
tenance to  such  claims,  which  are  utterly  inconsistent  with 
the  common  principles  of  Presbyterians,  and,  in  particular, 
with  the  well-known  and  avowed  principles  and  contendings 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland."* 

Section  IV. — It  is  the  duty  of  people  to  pray  for 
magistrates,8  to  honour  their  persons,9  to  pay  them  tribute 
and  other  dues,10  to  obey  their  lawful  commands,  and  to 
be  subject  to  their  authority,  for  conscience'  sake.11  Infi- 
delity, or  difference  in  religion,  doth  not  make  void  the 
magistrate's  just  and  legal  authority,  nor  free  the  people 
from  their  due  obedience  to  him : 12  from  which  ecclesiasti- 
cal persons  are  not  exempted  ; 13  much  less  hath  the  Pope 
any  power  or  jurisdiction  over  them  in  their  dominions, 
or  over  any  of  their  people ;  and  least  of  all  to  deprive 
them  of  their  dominions  or  lives,  if  he  shall  judge  them 
to  be  heretics,  or  upon  any  other  pretence  whatsoever.14 

8  1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2.        9  1  Pet.  ii.  17.  I  13  Rom.  xiii.  1.     1  Kings  ii.  35.    Acts 

10  Rom.  xiii.  6,  7.  xxv.  9-11.    2  Pet.  ii.  1,  10,  11. 

11  Rom.  xiii.  5.    Tit.  iii.  1.  Jude  8-11. 

12  1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14,  16.  1  14  2  Thess.  ii.  4.     Rev.  xiii.  15-17. 

EXPOSITION. 

1 .  This  section,  in  the  first  place,  states  the  duty  of  subjects 
towards  their  rulers;  and  the  proofs  adduced  by  the  compilers 
of  our  Confession  clearly  show  that  it  is  their  duty  to  pray 
for  the  divine  blessing  upon  them,  to  honour  their  persons, 
to  pay  them  tribute,  and  to  yield  them  a  conscientious  sub- 
jection and  obedience  in  all  their  lawful  commands. 
*  M'Crie's  Appendix,  pp.  142,  143. 


252  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIII. 

2.  It  is  affirmed,  in  opposition  to  a  Popish  tenet,  that 
"  infidelity,  or  difference  in  religion,  doth  not  make  void  the 
magistrate's  just  and  legal  authority,  nor  free  the  people  from 
their  due  obedience  to  him."  Christ  himself  paid  tribute  to 
Caesar,  and  his  apostles  inculcated  upon  Christians  subjection 
to  "the  higher  powers'"  then  existing,  although  all  these 
powers  were  heathen.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that 
nations  favoured  with  supernatural  revelation  ought,  in 
choosing  their  rulers,  to  have  a  respect  to  religious  qualifica- 
tions. And  nations  that  have  made  great  attainments  in 
reformation,  and  pledged  themselves,  by  national  vows  to  the 
Most  High,  to  hold  fast  their  attainments,  certainly  ought, 
in  setting  up  magistrates,  to  look  out  for  those  who  will  concur 
with  them  in  the  maintenance  of  the  time  religion,  and  rule 
them  by  laws  subservient  to  its  advancement.  On  this  prin- 
ciple our  Reformers  acted;  for  they  provided,  by  their  deed 
of  civil  constitution,  that  the  sovereign  over  these  realms 
should  be  of  the  same  religion  with  the  people,  and  co-operate 
with  them  in  prosecuting  the  ends  of  the  national  covenants. 
But  where  a  magistrate  has  authority,  by  the  will  and  consent 
of  the  body  politic,  or  majority  of  a  nation  (this  being  what 
renders  his  authority  "just  and  legal,"  according  to  the  Word 
of  God),  "  infidelity,  or  difference  in  religion,  does  not  make 
void  his  authority,"  nor  release  individuals,  or  a  minority, 
from  subjection  and  obedience  to  him  in  all  lawful  commands. 
With  this  principle,  so  clearly  laid  down  in  our  Confession, 
accords  the  practice  of  "  our  reforming  fathers  in  Scotland 
under  Queen  Mary,  and  of  their  successors  during  the  first 
establishment  of  Episcopacy,  and  after  the  Restoration,  down 
to  the  time  at  which  the  government  degenerated  into  an 
open  and  avowed  tyranny." 

3.  It  is  affirmed  that  "  ecclesiastical  persons  are  not  ex- 
empted" from  due  obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate.  This 
is  an  explicit  denial  of  the  Popish  doctrine  of  the  exemption 
of  the  persons  and  property  of  ecclesiastics  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  ordinary  criminal  and  civil  tribunals.  Our 
Confession  decidedly  maintains  that  the  civil  magistrate  may 
not  claim  authority  to  control  or  over-rule  the  office-bearers 
of  the  Church  in  the  discharge  of  their  proper  functions ;  but 
it  no  less  clearly  teaches  that  ecclesiastical  persons  are  not 
exempted  from  his  authority  in  matters  that  fall  under  his 
rightful  jurisdiction,  as  being  of  a  civil  nature.  The  apostolic 
injunction  is  general,  and  extends  to  all  sorts  of  persons: 
"  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers." — Rom. 
xiii.  1.  The  expression  every  soul  is  very  emphatical,  and 
seems  intended  to  bring  the  idea  of  the  universality  of  the 


SECT.  1.]  OF  MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  253 

obligation  more  strongly  out  than  the  use  of  the  ordinary- 
phrase,  every  one,  would  have  done.  The  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical authorities  have  separate  and  distinct  jurisdictions.  In 
ecclesiastical  matters,  civil  rulers  have  no  rightful  jurisdic- 
tion ;  and  in  civil  matters,  ecclesiastical  persons,  as  they  are 
members  of  the  commonwealth,  are  equally  bound  with  others 
to  be  subject  to  the  ruling  authorities. 

4.  It  is  further  affirmed,  that  the  Pope  hath  no  power  or 
jurisdiction  over  magistrates  in  their  dominions,  or  over  any 
of  their  people.  The  Popes,  when  in  the  plenitude  of  their 
power,  usurped  a  supremacy  over  the  whole  earth,  in  tem- 
porals as  well  as  in  spirituals.  They  pretended  to  have  au- 
thority, by  divine  right,  over  kings  and  their  dominions,  and 
claimed  a  power  to  dispose  of  crowns  and  kingdoms  at  their 
pleasure.  This  arrogant  claim  they  have,  in  innumerable 
instances,  reduced  to  practice.  They  have  deposed  and  ex- 
communicated kings,  on  the  ground  of  pretended  heresy  or 
schism — absolved  their  subjects  from  their  allegiance,  and 
transferred  their  dominions  to  others.  Since  the  Reforma- 
tion, however,  the  exorbitant  power  of  the  Pope  has  been 
greatly  restrained.  Protestants  disclaim  his  authority,  not 
only  in  temporal,  but  also  in  spiritual  matters ;  and  even  in 
the  most  of  those  countries  where  his  spiritual  authority  is 
still  acknowledged,  his  temporal  supremacy  is  disowned;  but 
since  Papists  boast  of  the  unchangeable ness  of  their  Church, 
and  since  the  Roman  Pontiffs  lay  claim  to  infallibility,  it 
cannot  be  supposed  that  they  have  renounced  their  right  to 
universal  dominion;  and  should  they  again  attain  to  power, 
it  may  be  presumed  that  their  ancient  extravagant  principles 
would  be  openly  avowed,  and  their  universal  supremacy  en- 
forced as  rigorously  as  in  the  darker  ages.  Every  friend  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  ought,  therefore,  strenuously  to  re- 
sist every  encroachment  of  "  the  Man  of  Sin,  who  opposeth 
and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  god." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OF  MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE. 


Section  I. — Marriage  is  to  be  between  one  man  and 
one  woman  :  neither  is  it  lawful  for  any  man  to  have 


254  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIV. 

more  than  one  wife,  nor  for  any  woman  to  have  more 
than  one  husband  at  the  same  time.1 

Section  II. — Marriage  was  ordained  for  the  mutual 
help  of  husband  and  wife ; 2  for  the  increase  of  mankind 
with  a  legitimate  issue,  and  of  the  Church  with  an  holy 
seed; 3  and  for  preventing  of  uncleanness.4 

1  Gen.  ii.  24    Matt.  xix.  5, 6.    Prov.  I  2  Gen.  ii.  18. 

ii.  17.  I  »  Mai.  ii.  15.  *  1  Cor.  vii.  2, 9. 

EXPOSITION. 
Marriage  is  an  ordinance  of  God,  designed  for  the  mutual 
help  of  husband  and  wife,  for  the  honourable  propagation  of 
the  human  race,  and  for  other  important  purposes  connected 
with  the  comfort  and  improvement  of  the  species.  It  was 
instituted  before  the  entrance  of  sin,  and  must,  therefore,  be 
a  holy  ordinance,  and  no  hindrance  to  men  in  the  service  of 
God.  The  Lord  saw  that  "  it  was  not  good  for  Adam,"  even 
in  Paradise,  "  to  be  alone,"  and  that  "  there  was  no  help  meet 
for  him"  to  be  found  among  all  the  other  creatures.  He 
was  therefore  pleased  to  form  the  woman  from  his  side,  as 
"  bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,"  and,  having  brought 
her  to  Adam,  he  joined  them  together  as  husband  and  wife, 
and  thus  gave  an  example  to  be  imitated  by  their  descend- 
ants. As  God  made  no  more  than  one  woman  for  Adam,  he 
thereby  plainly  indicated  his  will  that  every  man  should  have 
only  one  wife,  and  every  woman  only  one  husband.  In  this 
manner  Malachi  explains  the  fact,  when  he  says:  "  And  did 
not  he  make  one  ?" — namely  one  woman — "  yet  had  he  the 
residue  of  the  Spirit.  And  wherefore  one  ?  That  he  might 
seek  a  godly  seed." — Mai.  ii.  15.  Polygamy  was  first  intro- 
duced by  Lamech,  an  abandoned  descendant  of  Cain  (Gen. 
iv.  19),  and,  though  practised,  by  the  patriarchs,  and  other 
pious  men,  it  is  contrary  both  to  the  divine  institution  and 
to  the  law  of  nature.  As  God  in  his  providence  maintains 
so  near  an  equality  between  the  males  and  females  born  into 
the  world,  it  is  manifestly  his  intention  that  one  woman  only 
should  be  assigned  to  one  man ;  and  wdierever  polygamy  has 
prevailed,  it  has  been  attended  with  numerous  evils,  both  to 
the  parties  themselves  and  to  the  public.  It  promotes  jea- 
lousies and  contentions  among  the  wives  of  the  same  husband; 
produces  distracted  affections,  or  the  loss  of  all  affection  in 
the  husband  himself;  tends  to  the  degradation  of  the  female 
character,  to  the  neglect  of  children,  and  manifold  other  evils. 
The  words  of  Christ  (Matt.  xix.  9)  plainly  imply  a  prohibi- 


SECT.  3.]  OF  MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE. 


255 


tion  of  polygamy;  for  if  "  whosoever  putteth  away  his  wife 
[except,  it  be  for  incontinence],  and  marrieth  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery,"  he  who  marrieth  another  without  putting 
away  the  first,  must  be  no  less  guilty  of  adultery. 

SectonIII. — It  is  lawful  for  all  sorts  of  people  to  marry 
who  are  able  with  judgment  to  give  their  consent: 5  yet 
it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  marry  only  in  the  Lord.6 
And  therefore  such  as  profess  the  true  reformed  religion 
should  not  marry  with  infidels,  Papists,  or  other  idolaters: 
neither  should  such  as  are  godly  be  unequally  yoked,  by 
marrying  with  such  as  are  notoriously  wicked  in  their 
life,  or  maintain  damnable  heresies.7 


5  Heb.  xiii.  4.    1  Tim.  iv.  3.    1  Cor. 

vii.  36-38.     Gen.  xxiv.  57,  58. 

6  1  Cor.  vii.  39. 

*  Gen.  xxxiv.  14.    Exod.  xxxiv.   16. 


Deut.  vii.  3,  4.  1  Kings  xi.  4. 
Neh.  xiii.  25-27.  Mai.  ii.  11, 12. 
2  Cor.  vi.  14. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  Church  of  Rome  forbids  the  marriage  of  the  clergy, 
and  of  all  under  the  celibate  vow.  This  is  one  of  "the 
doctrines  of  devils"  which  is  mentioned  as  characteristic  of 
the  great  apostasy  (1  Tim.  iv.  1-3):  "Now  the  Spirit speaketh 
expressly,  that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the 
faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of 
devils,  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having  their  conscience 
seared  with  a  hot  iron;  forbidding  to  marry,"  &c.  It 
is  a  doctrine  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Word  of  God,  which 
allows  "  all  sorts  of  people  to  marry,  who  are  able  with 
judgment  to  give  their  consent."  An  apostle  declares  that 
"  marriage  is  honourable  in  all  (Heb.  xiii.  4),  without  except- 
ing those  who  are  employed  in  the  public  offices  of  religion. 
Under  the  Old  Testament,  the  prophets,  the  priests,  and  all 
those  who  attended  more  immediately  upon  the  service  of 
God,  were  permitted  to  marry.  Under  the  New  Testament, 
also,  the  ministers  of  religion  have  an  express  allowance  to 
enter  into  the  marriage  state.  That  the  Apostle  Peter  was 
a  married  man  is  evident  from  Matt.  viii.  14.  Philip  the 
evangelist"  had  four  daughters, virgins,  which  did  prophesy." 
Acts  xxi.  9.  Paul  claimed  a  right  to  "  lead  about  a  sister,  a 
wife,  as  well  as  the  other  apostles." — 1  Cor.  ix.  5.  And  it  is 
repeatedly  mentioned  that  "  a  bishop  must  be  blameless,  the 
husband  of  one  wife." — 1  Tim.  iii.  2 ;  Tit.  i.  6.  It  is  thus  evi- 
dent that  the  ministers  of  religion  have  the  same  liberty  in 
this  matter  that  ether  men  enjoy.     The  constrained  celibacy 


256  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  ^CHAP.  XXIV. 

of  the  Romish  clergy  is  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  aban- 
doned profligacy  which  has  ever  existed  in  that  Church. 

Under  the  former  dispensation,  the  people  of  God  were 
expressly  prohibited  entering  into  marriages  with  heathens, 
and  especially  with  the  Canaanites. — Exod.  xxxiv.  12-16; 
Deut.  vii.  3.  Such  marriages  were  reckoned  in  themselves 
null,  and  so  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  caused  the  Jews  to  put  away 
their  heathenish  wives. — Ezra  x. ;  Neh.  xiii.  Upon  the  in- 
troduction of  the  gospel,  it  must  have  frequently  happened 
that  a  husband  or  a  wife  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  while 
their  partner  continued  attached  to  idolatry.  In  this  case, 
the  Apostle  Paul  determines  that  the  believing  husband  or 
wife  should  continue  with  the  unbeliever  :  "  If  any  brother 
hath  a  wife  that  believeth  not,  and  she  be  pleased  to  dwell 
with  him,  let  him  not  put  her  away.  And  the  woman  which 
hath  an  husband  that  believeth  not,  and  he  be  pleased  to 
dwell  with  her,  let  her  not  leave  him." — 1  Cor.  vii.  12,  13. 
The  apostle  thus  decides,  that  after  marriage,  if  either  the 
husband  or  the  wife  embrace  the  Christian  religion,  the  other 
party  still  continuing  a  heathen,  this  difference  in  religion  is 
not  a  sufficient  ground  for  a  separation.  If  the  idolatrous 
party  is  still  willing  to  live  with  the  party  converted,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  believer  cheerfully  and  faithfully  to  perform  his 
or  her  obligations,  notwithstanding  their  different  sentiments 
regarding  religion.  But  if  a  Christian  man  or  woman  have 
their  choice  to  make,  they  are  required  to  marry  "  only  in 
the  Lord."  The  intermarrying  of  the  professors  of  the  true 
with  those  of  a  false  religion,  or  of  believers  with  those  who 
are  evidently  strangers  to  true  godliness,  is  prohibited,  at 
least  in  ordinary  cases  (2  Cor.  vi.  14)  :  "  Be  ye  not  unequally 
yoked  together  with  unbelievers."  The  disregard  of  this 
rule  is  productive  of  many  evils.  The  Christian  who  unites 
himself  to  such  a  partner  exposes  himself  to  many  powerful 
temptations.  He  must  necessarily  mingle  in  the  society  of 
those  whose  views  and  pursuits  are  of  a  character  entirely 
opposite  to  his  own.  His  opportunities  of  religious  improve- 
ment will  be  greatly  lessened.  Family  worship  can  scarcely 
be  maintained.  His  endeavours  to  train  up  his  children  in 
the  fear  of  God  will  be  counteracted  by  the  example  and  in- 
structions of  his  unbelieving  partner.  Instead  of  an  help 
meet  for  him  in  his  Christian  warfare,  she  will  prove  a  snare 
to  his  soul.  From  this  cause,  many  have  apostatized  from 
the  faith,  and  others  who  have  maintained  their  integrity 
have  pierced  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 

Section  IV. — Marriage  ought  not  to  be  within  the 


SECT.  4-6.]       OP  MARRIAGE  AND   DIVORCE.  257 

degrees  of  consanguinity  or  affinity  forbidden  in  the 
Word ; 8  nor  can  such  incestuous  marriages  ever  be  made 
lawful  by  any  law  of  man  or  consent  of  parties,  so  as 
those  persons  may  live  together  as  man  and  wife.9  The 
man  may  not  marry  any  of  his  Avife's  kindred  nearer  in 
blood  than  he  may  of  his  own,10  nor  the  woman  of  her 
husband's  kindred  nearer  in  blood  than  of  her  own. 

Section  V. — Adultery  or  fornication  committed  after 
a  contract,  being  detected  before  marriage,  giveth  just 
occasion  to  the  innocent  party  to  dissolve  that  contract.11 
In  the  case  of  adultery  after  marriage,  it  is  lawful  for 
the  innocent  party  to  sue  out  a  divorce,12  and,  after  the 
divorce,  to  marry  another,  as  if  the  offending  party  were 
dead.13 

Section  VI. — Although  the  corruption  of  man  be  such 
as  is  apt  to  study  arguments  unduly  to  put  asunder 
those  whom  God  hath  joined  together  in  marriage ;  yet 
nothing  but  adultery,  or  such  wilful  desertion  as  can  no 
way  be  remedied  by  the  Church  or  civil  magistrate,  is 
cause  sufficient  of  dissolving  the  bond  of  marriage  : 14 
wherein  a  public  and  orderly  course  of  proceeding  is  to 
be  observed,  and  the  persons  concerned  in  it  not  left  to 
their  own  wills  and  discretion  in  their  own  case.15 

8  Lev.  xviii.   ]  Cor.  v.  1.   Amosii.  7.  |  1S  Matt.  xix.  9.     Rom.  vii.  2,  3. 

9  Mark  vi.  18.     Lev.  xviii.  24-28.        |  1*  Matt.   xix.  8,   9.     1    Cor.  vii.  15. 

10  Lev.  xx.  1.9-21.  I  Matt.  xix.  C. 

11  Matt.  i.  18-20.      *2  Matt.  v.  313  32.  |  15  Deut.  xxiv.  1-4. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  the  Mosaic  law  marriage  was  expressly  forbidden  with- 
in certain  degrees  of  consanguinity  or  affinity  (Lev.  xviii.); 
and  by  the  laws  of  our  country  the  prohibition  is  extended 
to  the  same  degrees.  Marriages  contracted  within  these 
degrees  are  in  themselves  justly  deemed  invalid,  and  may 
properly  be  dissolved. 

Moses  permitted  the  Jews,  "  because  of  the  hardness  of 
their  hearts,"  to  put  away  their  wives,  to  prevent  greater 
evils;  but  in  the  New  Testament  a  divorce  is  only  permitted 
in  case  of  adultery,  or  of  wilful  and  obstinate  desertion.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  adultery  is  a  just  ground  for  "  the 
innocent  party  to  sue  out  a  divorce,  and,  after  the  divorce,  to 
marry  another,  as  if  the  offending  party  were  dead;"  for  Christ 


258  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXV. 

has  plainly  decided  this  case  (Matt.  v.  32) :  "  I  say  unto  you, 
That  whosoever  shall  put  aAvay  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause 
of  fornication,  causeth  her  to  commit  adultery;  and  whoso- 
ever shall  marry  her  that  is  divorced,  committeth  adultery." 
But  whether  the  wilful  and  obstinate  desertion  of  one  of  the 
parties  sets  the  other  party  at  liberty  to  marry  again,  may 
admit  of  dispute.  Many  divines  of  great  name  have  main- 
tained the  affirmative,  and  have  thought  the  case  to  be  ex- 
pressly determined  by  the  Apostle  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  15) :  "  If 
the  unbelieving  depart,  let  him  depart.  A  brother  or  a  sis- 
ter is  not  under  bondage  in  such  cases."  At  verse  11,  the 
apostle  plainly  declares,  that  the  party  who  wilfully  and  ob- 
stinately deserted  the  other,  was  not  at  liberty  to  marry 
again  during  the  other's  life.  But  at  verse  15,  he  appears 
to  declare  that  the  party  who  was  deserted,  after  using  due 
means  for  the  return  of  the  party  deserting,  was  free  to  marry 
again.*  And  the  decision  seems  just;  for  by  irreclaimable 
desertion  the  marriage  bond  is  broken,  and  the  ends  for 
which  marriage  was  appointed  are  effectually  defeated ;  and 
it  is  not  reasonable  that  the  innocent  party  should  be  denied 
all  relief.  Our  Confession,  accordingly,  teaches  that  not  only 
adultery,  but  also  "  such  wilful  desertion  as  can  no  way  be 
remedied  by  the  Church  or  civil  magistrate,  is  cause  sufficient 
for  dissolving  the  bond  of  marriage ;"  and  the  law  of  Scot- 
land also  allows  of  divorce  in  case  of  wilful  and  irreclaimable 
desertion.  It  ought  to  be  observed,  however,  that  even 
adultery  does  not,  ipso  facto,  dissolve  the  bond  of  marriage, 
nor  may  it  be  dissolved  by  consent  of  parties.  The  violation 
of  the  marriage  vow  only  invests  the  injured  party  with  a 
right  to  demand  the  dissolution  of  it  by  the  competent  au- 
thority; and  if  he  chooses  to  exercise  that  right,  the  divorce 
must  be  effected  "  by  a  public  and  orderly  course  of  pro- 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Section  I — The  catholic  or  universal  Church,  which 

*  This  view  of  the  text  has  been  warmly  opposed  by  Dr  Dwight  (Sermon 
cxxi.);  but  the  interpretation  given  above  has  been  "the  general  opinion  of 
enlightened  statesmen  as  well  as  theologians  in  this  country. 


SECT.   1-3.]  OF  THE  CHURCH.  259 

is  invisible,  consists  of  the  whole  number  of  the  elect 
that  have  been,  are,  or  shall  be,  gathered  into  one,  under 
Christ  the  head  thereof;  and  is  the  spouse,  the  body, 
the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all.1 

Section  II. — The  visible  Church,  which  is  also 
catholic  or  universal  under  the  gospel  (not  confined 
to  one  nation,  as  before,  under  the  law),  consists  of  all 
those  throughout  the  world  that  profess  the  true  religion  " 
together  with  their  children  f  and  is  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,4  the  house  and  family  of  God,5  out 
of  which  there  is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation.6 

Section  III — Unto  this  catholic  visible  Church 
Christ  hath  given  the  ministry,  oracles,  and  ordinances  of 
God,  for  the  gathering  and  perfecting  of  the  saints  in  this 
life  to  the  end  of  the  world ;  and  doth  by  his  own  pre- 
sence and  Spirit,  according  to  his  promise,  make  them 
effectual  thereunto.7 

1  Eph.  i.  10,  22,  23;  v.  23,  27,  32j  Col.  I  *  Matt.  xiii.  47.     Isa.  ix.  7. 

i.  18.  5  Eph.  ii.  19;  iii.  15. 

2  1  Cor.  i.    2;  xii.    12,    13      Ps.  ii.  8.  |  6   Acts  ii.  47. 

Rev.  vii.  9.     Rom.  xv.  9-12.         I7  1    Cor.   xii.    28.      Eph.    iv.    11-13. 

s  1  Cor.  vii.  14.     Acts  ii.  39.     Ezek.  |  Matt,  xxviii.    19,  20.     Isa.  lix. 

xvi.  20,  21.     Rom.  xi.  16.     Gen.  I  21. 
iii.  15 ,  xvii.  7. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  Greek  word  Ecclesia,  which  we  render  Church,  is 
derived  from  a  word  which  signifies  to  call  out,  and  denotes 
an  assembly  called  out  and  convened  for  any  particular  pur- 
pose. In  democratic  states  it  was  applied  to  the  assemblies 
of  the  people,  who  were  called  out  by  a  public  herald,  and 
pjathered  into  a  certain  place,  in  order  to  deliberate  together. 
To  specify  the  various  meanings  which  this  word  bead's  in  the 
New  Testament  is  at  present  unnecessary;  it  is  sufficient  for 
our  purpose  to  remark,  that  the  term  is  used  to  denote  an 
assembly  or  society  of  men,  called  by  the  gospel  out  of  the 
world  which  lieth  in  wickedness,  into  the  faith  and  fellow- 
ship of  Jesus  Christ.  But  there  is  a  twofold  calling;  the 
one  external,  merely  by  the  Word — the  other  internal,  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  elect.  Hence  the  Church 
may  be  considered  under  a  twofold  aspect  or  form;  the  one 
external  or  visible — the  other  internal  or  invisible.  The 
Church,  viewed  as  invisible,  consists,  according  to  our  Con- 


260  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [jDHAP.  XXV. 

fession,  "  of  the  whole  number  of  the  elect  that  have  been, 
are,  or  shall  be,  gathered  into  one,  under  Christ,  the  head 
thereof."  Of  this  Church  the  apostle  speaks  (Eph.  v.  25-27): 
"  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  it ;  that  he 
might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it,  with  the  washing  of  water 
by  the  Word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious 
Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."  Of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Church  some  have  already  finished  their  course, 
and  are  now  perfected  spirits  in  heaven ;  others  are  still  liv- 
ing upon  earth,  and  engaged  in  the  Christian  warfare ;  which 
diversity  of  condition  has  given  occasion  for  the  ordinary 
distinction  between  the  Church  triumphant,  and  the  Church 
militant.  The  invisible  Church,  viewed  as  comprehending  the 
whole  number  of  the  elect,  will  not  be  completed  until  that 
day  when  "  the  Lord  shall  make  up  his  jewels."  This  Church, 
viewed  as  actually  existing  on  earth  at  any  particular  period, 
is  composed  of  those  who  have  been  called  by  divine  grace 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  gospel,  and  sanctified  by  the  truth; 
and  these  constitute  one  Church,  because,  however  distant  in 
place,  and  diversified  in  circumstances,  they  are  vitally  united 
to  Christ  as  their  head,  and  to  one  another  as  members  of 
the  same  body,  by  the  bond  of  the  Spirit  and  of  faith.  "  By 
one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  whether  we  be 
Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free;  and  have 
been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." — 1  Cor.  xii.  13. 

"  This  Church  is  said  to  be  invisible,  because  it  cannot  be 
discovered  by  the  eye.  It  is  not  separated  from  the  world 
in  respect  of  place,  but  of  state.  It  lies  hidden  in  the  visible 
Church,  from  which  it  cannot  be  certainly  distinguished.  The 
qualifications  of  its  members  are  internal;  their  faith  and 
love  are  not  the  objects  of  sense.  Towards  our  fellow-men 
we  can  exercise  only  the  judgment  of  charity,  founded  on 
probable  grounds ;  but  we  are  liable  to  err,  and,  from  various 
causes,  may  suppose  saints  to  be  hypocrites,  and  hypocrites 
to  be  saints.  It  is  unseen  by  every  eye  but  that  which 
'  searches  the  heart  and  tries  the  reins  of  the  children  of 
men.'  '  The  Lord,'  and  he  only,  '  knows  them  that  are 
his.'"* 

The  visible  Church,  according  to  our  Confession,  consists 
"  of  all  those  throughout  the  world  that  profess  the  true  re- 
ligion, together  with  their  children."  Of  this  Church  the 
Apostle  Paul  speaks,  in  1  Cor.  xii.  28 :  "  God  hath  set  some 
in  the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondarily  prophets,  thirdly 
teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings,  helps,  go- 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  309,  310. 


SECT.  1-3.]  OF  THE  CHURCH.  261 

vernments,  diversities  of  tongues."  "  This  Church  is  called 
visible,  not  only  because  the  persons  who  compose  it  are  not 
angels  or  separate  spirits,  but  men  dwelling  in  mortal  flesh, 
but  because,  as  a  society,  it  falls  under  the  observation  of 
our  senses.  The  members  are  known ;  their  assemblies  are 
public ;  we  may  be  present  in  them,  and  observe  the  cele- 
bration of  the  several  parts  of  their  worship.  It  is  distin- 
guishable, like  any  other  society ;  and  we  can  say,  Here  is 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  but  there  is  the  Church  of  the  Jews  or 
of  the  Mohammedans.  Nothing  more  is  necessary  to  discover 
it  than  the  use  of  our  senses.  Having  learned,  by  the  peru- 
sal of  the  Scriptures,  what  are  the  discriminating  characters 
of  the  Church,  wherever  we  perceive  a  society  whose  creed 
and  observances  are,  upon  the  whole,  conformable  to  this  pat- 
tern, we  are  authorized  to  say,  This  is  the  Church,  or  rather,  a 
part  of  the  Church."* 

When  we  speak  of  the  visible  and  invisible  Church,  this 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  if  there  were  two  Churches,  or  as 
if  one  part  of  the  Church  were  visible  and  another  invisible. 
The  former  includes  the  latter,  but  they  are  not  co-extensive ; 
the  same  individuals  who  constitute  the  Church  considered 
as  invisible,  belong  also  to  the  Church  considered  as  visible; 
but  many  who  belong  to  the  visible,  are  not  comprehended  in 
the  invisible  Church. 

The  ministry  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  which  Christ 
has  given  to  the  visible  Church,  are  designed  for  the  gather- 
ing of  sinners  into  the  Church  invisible,  and  for  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints ;  aud,  by  the  concurring  influences  of  his 
Spirit,  they  are  made  effectual  to  these  ends.  This  is  clearly 
taught  by  the  Apostle  Paul  (Eph.  iv.  11-13)  :  "  He  gave 
some,  apostles ;  and  some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists; 
and  some,  pastors  and  teachers;  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith, 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 
This  being  the  design  for  which  a  gospel  ministry  was  ap- 
pointed in  the  Church,  it.  will  certainly  be  continued  until 
all  the  elect  are  gathered  to  Christ,  and  every  one  of  them 
brought  to  perfection.  So  much  is  implied  in  the  promise  of 
Christ :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world." — Matt,  xxviii.  20.  This  also  secures  the  success 
of  the  gospel.  At  some  periods  few  may  seem  to  be  gathered 
unto  Christ ;  but,  from  time  to  time,  some  are  "  added  to 
the  Church  of  such  as  shall  be  saved."  All  that  the  Father 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  308,  309. 


262  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  fCHAP.  XXV. 

gave  to  Christ  shall  come  unto  him,  and  none  of  them  shall 
be  lost.  "  Other  sheep  I  have,"  says  Christ,  "  which  are 
not  of  this  fold;  them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear 
my  voice ;  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  Shepherd." — 
John  x.  16. 

The  epithet  "Catholic" — which  is  here  applied  to  the 
visible  Church — does  not  occur  in  Scripture,  but  has  been 
used  from  an  early  period,  although  not  always  in  the  same 
sense.  As  employed  in  our  Confession,  it  is  synonymous 
with  the  term  universal.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  arrogantly  claims  to  be  the  catholic  Church,  and 
pronounces  all  beyond  her  pale,  or  who  do  not  submit  to  the 
usurped  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  to  be  heretics,  and  accursed 
of  God.  It  might  be  easily  shown  that  her  pretensions  are 
unfounded  and  presumptuous — that  in  no  age  has  she  rea- 
lized the  character  of  universal.  But  the  true  Church  of 
Christ  is  not  confined  to  any  country  or  sect ;  it  comprehends 
all  who  profess  the  true  religion  and  observe  the  ordinances 
of  the  gospel ;  and  the  several  particular  Churches,  when 
regularly  constituted  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Christian 
world,  are  integral  parts  of  the  catholic  or  universal 
Church. 

Having  given  a  general  explanation  of  these  sections,  the 
several  propositions  which  they  embrace  may  be  more  par- 
ticularly considered. 

1.  There  is  a  universal  invisible  Church,  comprehending 
the  whole  body  of  believers,  or  all  the  elect  of  God,  as  called 
out  of  the  world  unto  the  fellowship  of  Jesus  Christ.  This 
is  denied  by  Papists,  who  maintain  that  the  catholic  Church 
is  absolutely  visible — as  really  as  any  of  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world,  and  consists  not  merely  of  the  elect  effectually 
called,  but  of  unbelievers  and  manifest  sinners — even  all 
who  profess  subjection  to  the  See  of  Rome.  But  the  Church 
of  which  we  now  speak  consists  of  such  only  as  are  true  be- 
lievers. These,  it  must  be  admitted,  are  not  visible;  and, 
consequently,  the  Church  which  they  constitute  must  be 
invisible.  As  men,  believers  are  the  objects  of  sense ;  but 
as  believers,  they  come  not  under  the  cognizance  of  the 
senses.  In  the  visible  Church  they  are  mingled  with  hypo- 
critical professors,  and  the  one  cannot  be  certainly  and  in- 
fallibly distinguished  from  the  other.  The  Scripture  teaches 
us  that  there  is  a  Church  which  is  the  spouse  of  Christ,  and 
whose  glory  is  internal  (Ps.  xlv.  13);  which  is  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ,  conjoined  with  him  by  spiritual  bonds  (Eph. 
i.  23)  ;  and  the  individual  members  of  which  are  joined  to- 
gether in  one  body  by  one  Spirit — 1  Cor.  xii.  13.     But  these 


SECT.  1-3.]  OF  THE  CHURCH.  26*3 

things  cannot  be  discerned  by  the  senses,  and  we  must, 
therefore,  believe  that  there  is  a  catholic  or  universal  in- 
visible Church,  composed  of  true  believers. 

2.  There  is  a  universal  visible  Church,  consisting  of  the 
whole  body  of  professing  Christians,  dispersed  throughout 
all  parts  of  the  world.  This  is  denied  by  the  Independents, 
who  confine  the  idea  of  a  visible  Church  to  a  single  congre- 
gation, which  ordinarily  assembles  in  one  place  for  public 
worship.  But,  in  various  places  of  the  New  Testament,  the 
word  Church  (as  applied  to  the  visible  Church)  cannot  be 
restricted  to  any  particular  congregational  Church.  When 
we  are  told  that  "  Saul  made  havock  of  the  Church"  (Acts 
viii.  3),  and  that  "  he  persecuted  the  Church  of  God,  and 
wasted  it"  (Gal  i.  13),  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  it  was  only 
a  single  congregation  that  was  exposed  to  his  fury.  It  is 
related  (Acts  ix.  31),  that,  after  his  conversion,  "  the 
Churches  had  rest  throughout  all  Judea,  and  Galilee,  and 
Samaria;"  which  certainly  intimates  that  formerly  they 
had  suffered  by  his  blind  zeal ;  yet  they  are  all  spoken  of  as 
one  Church  persecuted  by  him.  All  Christians  throughout 
the  world  are  united  together  in  such  a  way  as  to  constitute 
them  one  Church.  This  is  evident  from  the  various  desig- 
nations given  to  the  catholic  visible  Church.  It  is  called 
"  a  body,"  in  allusion  to  the  natural  body,  consisting  of 
various  members,  all  so  connected  together  as  to  form  one 
body.  It  is  termed  "  the  kingdom  of  God;"  but  a  kingdom 
is  one,  though  made  up  of  many  provinces  and  subordinate 
governments.  It  is  designated  "  the  house  of  God ;"  which 
implies  that,  though  made  up  of  many  parts,  it  is  but  one 
spiritual  family.  As  it  is  impossible  that  the  whole  body  of 
professing  Christians  can  meet  together  in  one  place  for  the 
observance  of  the  ordinances  of  religion,  it  is  necessary  that 
particular  Churches  or  congregations  should  be  formed  for 
this  purpose ;  but  these  particular  Churches  constitute  seve- 
ral integral  parts  of  the  one  catholic  or  universal  visible 
Church.* 

This  visible  Church  comprehends  hypocrites  and  formal 
professors,  as  well  as  those  that  are  effectually  called  and 
regenerated.  On  this  account  the  Church  is  compared  to  a 
floor,  in  which  there  is  not  only  wheat  but  also  chaff  (Matt, 
iii.  12);  to  a  field,  where  tares  as  well  as  good  seed  are 
sown  (Matt.  xiii.  24,  25) ;  to  a  net,  which  gathers  bad  fish 
together  with  the  good  (ver.  47);  to  a  great  house,  in  which 
are  vessels  of  every  kind,  some  to  hooour  and  some  to  dis- 
honour.—2  Tim.  ii.  20.  Such  being  the  state  of  the  visible 
*  Whytock"s  Essays  on  the  Church,  essay  ii. 


264  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXV. 

Church,  as  exhibited  in  Scripture,  there  can  be  no  warrant 
to  exact  from  persons  positive  marks  of  their  regeneration, 
as  indispensable  to  their  admission  to  the  fellowship  of  the 
Church,  and  to  require  from  them  an  account  of  their  reli- 
gious experience  for  the  purpose  of  forming  some  judgment 
about  their  spiritual  state.  Christ  has  not  authorized  the 
office-bearers  of  the  Church  to  make  an  entire  separation 
between  true  believers  and  formal  professors  of  religion. — 
Matt.  xiii.  30.  This  is  a  task  to  which  they  are  altogether 
incompetent ;  for,  as  the  servants  of  the  husbandman  could 
not,  for  a  considerable  time,  distinguish  the  tares  from  the 
wheat,  so  the  servants  of  Christ  cannot  infallibly  distinguish 
hypocrites  from  sincere  believers.  They  can  only  judge  of 
persons  by  their  external  deportment;  and  this  cannot  fur- 
nish evidence  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  pronounce  an  un- 
erring judgment  about  their  spiritual  state  before  God. 
The  ground  of  admission  to  the  fellowship  and  privileges 
of  the  visible  Church,  is  a  scriptural  profession.  Of  this 
alone  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church  are  capable  of  judging; 
and  to  proceed  upon  a  judgment  about  their  spiritual  state 
as  it  is  in  the  sight  of  God,  would  be  to  assume  the  prero- 
gative of  Him  who  alone  "  searcheth  the  heart." 

3.  The  children  of  professing  Christians  are  members  of 
the  visible  Church.  This  is  denied  by  Antipsedobaptists;  and 
many  Independents,  though  they  admit  infants  to  baptism, 
hesitate  about  what  account  is  to  be  made  of  them ;  whether 
they  are  to  be  considered  as  Church  members,  or  only  as  put 
under  the  care  of  the  Church  in  order  to  their  preparation  for 
that  state.  "  It  is  a  considerable  presumption  in  favour  of 
the  Church  state  of  the  infants  of  Church  members,  that,  in 
civil  society,  the  privilege  of  children  is  the  same  with  that 
of  their  parents.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  consist  of 
infants  as  well  as  adults;  and  shall  we  think  that  infants 
are  excluded  from  a  place  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  ?  The 
children  of  British  subjects  are  entitled  to  the  same  privileges 
as  their  parents,  although,  in  the  meantime,  they  be  not  cap- 
able of  an  understanding,  or  full  enjoyment  of  them.  Is  it 
not,  therefore,  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  constitution  of 
Christ's  kingdom  is  every  whit  as  favourable  to  the  privilege 
of  infants?  We  are  not,  however,  left  to  supposition  and 
analogy  in  this  matter ;  their  privilege  may  be  clearly  estab- 
lished from  the  Word  of  God.  God's  covenant  with  his 
Church  extends  to  parents  and  their  children.  Infants  were 
members  of  the  Church  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  there 
is  no  word  of  their  exclusion  under  the  New;  nay,  in  the  New 
Testament  there  are  various  testimonies  that  the  privilege 


SECT.  4,  5.]  OP  THE  CHURCH.  265 

of  Church  membership  extends  to  infants  still."*  Our  Lord 
himself  asserts  it  most  expressly  (Luke  xviii.  16):  "Jesus 
said,  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  If,  by  "  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  as  some  contend,  be  here  meant  the  state  of 
glory,  we  might  strongly  infer,  that  children,  being  heirs  of 
glory,  ought  to  be  acknowledged  as  members  of  the  visible 
Church.  But  it  is  more  probable  that,  in  this  passage,  by 
"the  kingdom  of  God"  is  to  be  understood,  the  Church  on 
earth;  and  our  Lord  assigns  as  the  reason  why  children 
should  be  suffered  to  come  to  him,  that  he  recognised  them 
as  members  of  his  Church. 

4.  There  is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation  out  of  the 
visible  Church.  This  is  widely  different  from  the  doctrine 
of  the  Romish  Church,  which  affirms  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
is  the  only  Church,  and  that  there  is  no  salvation  out  of 
that  Church.  The  same  arrogant  pretensions  are  frequently 
put  forth  by  proud,  uncharitable  Prelatists,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  island;  who,  assuming  that  their  own  society  is 
"  the  Church,"  pronounce  all  who  do  not  submit  to  the  govern- 
ment of  bishops  to  be  schismatics,  and  hand  them  over  to  the 
uncovenanted  mercies  of  God;  or,  in  other  words,  exclude 
them  from  all  hope  of  salvation.  But  we  are  not  so  presump- 
tuous as  to  confine  the  possibility  of  salvation  within  the 
limits  of  any  particular  Church,  neither  do  we  absolutely 
affirm  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  salvation  out  of  the  uni- 
versal visible  Church.  Our  Confession,  in  terms  remarkably 
guarded,  only  asserts,  that  "  out  of  the  visible  Church  there 
is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation."  There  is,  then,  a  pos- 
sibility of  salvation  without  its  pale ;  for  a  person  may,  by 
some  means,  such  as  by  the  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  be 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  have  no  oppor- 
tunity of  joining  himself  to  the  Church ;  but  such  cases  are 
extraordinary:  and,  as  God  usually  works  by  means,  there 
is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation  out  of  the  visible  Church, 
because  those  who  are  out  of  the  Church  are  destitute  of  the 
ordinary  means  of  salvation. 

Section  IV. — This  catholic  Church  hath  been  some- 
times more,  sometimes  less  visible.8  And  particular 
Churches,  which  are  members  thereof,  are  more  or  less 
pure,  according  as  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  is  taught 
and  embraced,  ordinances  administered,  and  public  wor- 
ship performed  more  or  less  purely  in  them.9 

8  Rom.  xi.  3,  4.     Rev.  xii.  C,  14.  9   Rev.  ii.,  iii.     1  Cor.  v.  6,  7. 

*  Whytock's  Essays  on  the  Church,  essay  ix. 


266  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XXV. 

Section  V.— The  purest  Churches  under  heaven  are  sub- 
ject both  to  mixture  and  error ; 10  and  some  have  so  de- 
generated as  to  become  no  Churches  of  Christ,  but  syna- 
gogues of  Satan.11  Nevertheless,  there  shall  be  always  a 
Church  on  earth,  to  worship  God  according  to  his  will.13 

10  1    Cor.    xiii.    12.       Rev.    ii.,    in.  I  "  Matt.  xvi.  18.  Ps.  lxxii.  17;  cii.  28. 

Matt.  xiii.  24-30,  47.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,20. 

11  Rev.  xviii.  2.     Rom.  xi.  18-22. 

EXPOSITION. 

1.  The  catholic  Church  has  been  sometimes  more,  some- 
times less  visible.  It  has  been  already  shown  that  the 
Church,  as  to  its  external  state,  is  visible,  and  it  will  after- 
wards appear  that  the  Church  shall  never  perish.  But 
though  the  visible  Church  always  exists  in  some  part  of  the 
world,  it  is  not  always  equally  flourishing  and  equally  con- 
spicuous. As  the  moon  waxes  and  wanes,  so  the  Church 
sometimes  shines  forth  with  splendour,  and  at  other  times  is 
so  obscured  as  to  be  scarcely  discernible.  It  may  be  so  re- 
duced in  numbers,  and  the  few  that  remain  faithful  may  be 
so  scattered,  or  compelled  to  hide  themselves,  through  the 
violence  of  persecution,  that  the  most  discerning  Christian 
shall  scarcely  perceive  the  form  of  a  visible  Church.  This 
we  maintain  in  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  that  the  Church  has  been,  is,  and  shall  be,  most 
gloriously  visible  to  the  whole  world.  This  doctrine  is  re- 
futed by  the  history  of  the  Church,  both  under  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament.  Under  the  former  dispensation,  so  general 
was  the  defection  to  idolatry,  and  so  violent  the  rage  of  per- 
secution, during  the  reign  of  Ahab,  that  Elijah  supposed  he 
was  the  only  worshipper  of  the  true  God  that  survived.  God 
had  indeed  reserved  to  himself  seven  thousand  men  who  had 
not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal — but  they  were 
"  hidden  ones ;"  and  Elijah,  having  failed  to  discover  them, 
came  to  this  conclusion:  "I,  even  I,  only  am  left." — 1  Kings 
xix.  10.  Under  the  latter  dispensation,  we  read  of  a  period 
when  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle  were  given  to  the  woman 
(that  is,  to  the  Church),  that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilder- 
ness, to  hide  herself — Rev.  xii.  14.  The  Church  is  always 
liable  to  be  oppressed  by  persecutions,  or  corrupted  by  errors ; 
and  both  of  these  must  obscure  her  brightness  and  glory. 

2.  The  purest  Churches  under  heaven  are  subject  both  to 
mixture  and  error.  Papists  strenuously  maintain  that  the 
Church  cannot  err;  but  as  they  are  not  agreed  among  them- 
selves where  this  infallibility  resides — whether  in  the  Pope 


SECT.  4,  5.]  OF  THE  CHURCH.  267 

or  in  a  general  council,  or  in  both  united — we  may  regard  this 
as  affording  indubitable  evidence  that  the  claim  is  preposte- 
rous and  unfounded.  If  any  individual  or  Church  were 
really  invested  with  a  privilege  so  important  and  distinguish- 
ed as  infallibility,  it  would  certainly  have  been  clearly  an- 
nounced where  it  is  lodged.  We  need  only  appeal  to  history 
for  innumerable  proofs  tbat  particular  Churches  have  erred, 
and  that  no  Church  has  erred  so  egregiously  as  the  Church 
of  Rome.  "The  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints"  will  be 
preserved  by  some  society  or  other,  greater  or  less,  in  all 
generations;  but  no  particular  Church  is  secured  against 
error. 

3.  A  true  Church  shall  always  be  preserved  upon  earth. 
Often  has  the  Church  been  greatly  reduced  as  to  numbers, 
and  particular  Churches  have  become  so  corrupt  that  they 
might  rather  be  considered  as  synagogues  of  Satan;  but  never 
has  the  Church  of  Christ  been  annihilated.  And  as  the 
Church  has  subsisted  from  its  first  erection  in  Paradise  to 
the  present  hour,  so  it  will  continue  throughout  all  subsequent 
ages,  till  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  Earthly  kingdoms 
may  be  overturned,  and  the  mightiest  empires  laid  in  ruins; 
but  neither  power  nor  policy  can  ever  accomplish  the  utter 
destruction  of  the  Church.  There  is,  indeed,  no  security  for 
the  permanent  continuance  of  the  Church  in  any  particular 
country  where  it  has  been  once  planted;  but  we  have  the 
most  solid  ground  for  assurance  that,  in  one  place  or  another, 
Christ  shall  have  a  seed  to  serve  him  and  to  perpetuate  his 
name  as  long  as  sun  and  moon  endure.  Hitherto  the  Church 
has,  for  the  most  part,  been  subjected  to  persecution  from  the 
powers  of  this  world;  but,  though  like  a  bush  burning,  she  has 
not  been  consumed.  Power  and  stratagem  may  be  combined 
to  effect  her  ruin,  but  in  vain ;  she  is  "  built  upon^a  rock,  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her." 

Section  VI. — There  is  no  other  head  of  the  Church 
but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  :13  nor  can  the  Pope  of  Rome 
in  any  sense  be  head  thereof;  but  is  that  Antichrist,  that 
man  of  sin  and  son  of  perdition,  that  exalteth  himself 
in  the  Church  against  Christ,  and  all  that  is  called  God.14 

13  Col.  i.  18.    Eph.  i.  22.  "  Matt,  xxiii.  8-10.     2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4,  8,  9. 

Rev.  xiii.  6. 

EXPOSITION. 

That  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  alone  head  of  the  Church 
must  be  maintained,  not  only  in  opposition  to  Papists,  who 
affirm  that  the  Pope  of  Rome,  as  the  successor  of  Peter  and 


268  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXV. 

the  vicegerent  of  Christ,  is  the  head  of  the  universal  Church  ; 
but  also  in  opposition  to  Erastians,  who  make  the  supreme 
magistrate  the  head  of  the  Church  within  his  own  dominions. 

A  universal  headship  or  dominion  belongs  to  Christ.  As 
God,  he  has  a  natural  and  essential  right  to  rule  and  dispose 
of  all  creatures  at  his  pleasure,  and  for  the  manifestation  of 
his  own  glory.  As  Mediator,  he  has  a  universal  headship 
by  donation  from  the  Father.  It  is  said  (Eph.  i.  22),  the 
Father  "gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things  to  the 
Church;"  where,  it  is  to  be  observed,  the  apostle  is  not 
treating  of  Christ's  headship  over  the  Church,  but  of  his 
universal  headship  as  Mediator.  He  is  constituted  head 
"over  all  things;"  but  this  power  is  delegated  to  him 
that  he  may  over-rule  all  things  for  the  good  of  the  Church; 
and  therefore  he  is  said  to  be  head  "  over  all  things  to  the 
Church"  or  for  her  benefit.  But  Christ  has  a  peculiar  head- 
ship over  the  Church,  which  is  his  body.  This  is  expressly 
asserted  (Col.  i.  18):  "He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the 
Church."  Here  he  is  compared  to  the  head  of  the  natural 
body;  and  in  Eph.  v.  23,  he  is  declared  to  be  the  head  of 
the  Church,  as  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife. 

To  the  visible  Church  Christ  is  a  head  of  government 
and  direction.  He  is  the  "  Ruler  in  Israel,"  and  "  the  govern- 
ment shall  be  upon  his  shoulder." — Isa.  ix.  6.  "  Yet  have  I 
set  my  King,"  says  Jehovah,  "  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion." 
Ps.  ii.  6.  To  him  it  belongs  to  enact  laws  for  his  Church 
— to  institute  the  ordinances  of  worship,  and  the  form  of 
government  to  be  observed  by  her — to  appoint  her  office- 
bearers, and  to  prescribe  the  manner  of  their  admission  into 
office.  To  the  Church  invisible  Christ  is  not  only  a  head  of 
government  and  direction,  but  also  of  vital  influence.  Hence 
he  is  called  "  the  head,  from  which  all  the  body,  by  joints 
and  bands,  having  nourishment  ministered,  and  knit  together, 
increaseth  with  the  increase  of  God." — Col,  ii.  19.  Christ  is 
the  sole  and  exclusive  head  of  the  Church,  whether  considered 
as  visible  or  as  invisible.  His  authority  alone  is  to  be  ac- 
knowledged by  the  Church,  as  her  supreme  Lawgiver.  Her 
language  must  ever  be :  "  The  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  our  king." 
Let  men  distinguish  as  they  will,  but  as  a  body  with  more 
heads  than  one  would  be  a  monster  in  nature,  so  the  Scrip- 
ture clearly  shows  that  the  body  of  Christ,  which  is  the 
Church,  is  no  such  monster.  As  there  is  "  one  body,"  so 
there  is  only  "  one  Lord."  Christ  has  not  delegated  his 
authority  either  to  popes  or  princes ;  and  though  he  is  now 
in  heaven  as  to  his  bodily  presence,  yet  he  needs  no  depute 
to  act  for  him  in  the  Church  below.     Before  he  ascended  up 


SECT.  6.]  OF  THE  CHURCH.  2G9 

on  high,  he  gave  this  precious  promise  to  his  disciples :  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world:"  and 
"where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  his  name,  there 
he  is  in  the  midst  of  them." — Matt,  xxviii.  20,  xviii.  20. 

Daring  encroachments  have  been  often  made  upon  this 
royal  prerogative  of  Christ,  both  by  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
powers.  Long  has  the  Man  of  Sin  and  Son  of  Perdition  blas- 
phemously arrogated  universal  headship  and  lordly  dominion; 
and  when  the  Reformation  took  place  in  England,  the  head- 
ship over  the  Church  was  only  transferred  from  the  Roman 
Pontiff  to  the  British  Sovereign.  Henry  VIII.  was  re- 
cognised as  "  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England ;"  and 
it  was  enacted,  "  that  the  king,  his  heirs,  &c,  shall  be  taken, 
accepted,  and  reputed,  the  only  supreme  head  on  earth  of  the 
Church  of  England,  called  Anglicana  Ecclesia;  and  shall  have 
and  enjoy,  annexed  and  united  to  the  imperial  crown  of  this 
realm,  as  well  the  title  and  style  thereof  as  all  honours, 
dignities,  immunities,  profits,  and  commodities  to  the  said 
dignity  of  supreme  head  of  the  said  Church  belonging  and 
appertaining."*  It  was  also  enacted,  that  his  majesty  hath 
full  authority  to  exercise  "  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction ;"  and 
"  that  the  archbishops  and  bishops,  have  no  manner  of  juris- 
diction ecclesiastical,  but  by,  under,  and  from  the  royal 
majesty."  f  In  the  commencement  of  Queen  Elizabeth's 
reign,  the  metaphorical  term  head  was  changed  into  supreme 
governor;  but  both  terms  signify  the  same  thing.  No  part  of 
the  power  or  authority  which  had  been  possessed  by  her  royal 
predecessors  was  relinquished ;  for,  at  the  sametime,  it  was 
enacted,  that  "all  jurisdictions — spiritual  and  ecclesiastical — 
should  for  ever  be  united  and  annexed  to  the  imperial  crown." 
This  sacrilegious  usurpation  of  spiritual  authority,  and  im- 
pious invasion  of  Christ's  sovereignty,  is  sanctioned  by  the 
Church  of  England,  in  her  37th  Article.  It  runs  thus:  "  The 
queen's  majesty  hath  the  chief  power  in  this  realm  of  England, 
and  other  her  dominions;  under  whom  the  chief  government 
of  all  estates  of  this  realm,  whether  they  be  ecclesiastical  or  civil, 
in  all  causes  doth  appertain."  Some  Churchmen,  indeed, 
seem  to  be  ashamed  of  recognising  the  sovereign  as  head  or 
supreme  governor  of  the  Church,  and  have  attempted  to  palliate 
or  explain  away  the  real  import  of  the  title.  But  the  at- 
tempt is  vain;  of  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  which  the  title 
involves,  and  of  the  Erastian  bondage  under  which  the  Church 
of  England  is  held,  numerous  proofs  can  be  easily  adduced. 
Who  knows  not,  for  example,  that  the  appointment  of  all  her 
bishops  belongs  to  the  sovereign — that  her  clergy  cannot 
*  The  2Gth,  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  1.  f  The  37th,  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  17. 


270  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  |_CHAP.  XXV 

meet  in  convocation  without  the  permission  of  her  majesty ; 
and  that  the  convocation  has  actually  been  suspended,  or 
virtually  abolished,  for  upwards  of  a  century  ?  That  a  Church 
so  completely  fettered  is  utterly  powerless  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  heresy  and  for  the  exercise  of  discipline  recent  events 
have  too  clearly  demonstrated. 

The  Church  of  Scotland,  at  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  nobly 
asserted,  and  practically  vindicated,  the  sole  headship  of  Christ. 
This  was  especially  the  grand  and  leading  principle  of  the 
Second  Reformation;  and  it  was  in  the  way  of  contending  for 
the  royal  prerogatives  of  Christ,  as  her  alone  king  and  head, 
and  resisting  the  Erastian  encroachments  of  aspiring  princes 
upon  her  spiritual  liberties,  that  many  of  her  sons  suffered 
bonds  and  exile,  and  shed  their  blood  in  fields  and  on  scaffolds. 
Though  the  sole  headship  of  Christ  is  explicitly  asserted  in 
our  Confession  of  Faith,  yet  it  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that 
this  vital  principle  was  not  more  effectually  guarded  in  the 
Revolution  Settlement.  The  Act  1592,  upon  which  the  Church 
was  erected  at  this  time,  contained  no  acknowledgment  of 
the  headship  of  Christ;  and  it  was  not  formally  asserted  by 
any  act  of  the  General  Assembly.  Though  a  regal  supremacy 
was  neither  directly  claimed  by  the  Crown  nor  conceded  by 
the  Church,  yet  it  was  not  long  till  it  was  virtually  exercised. 
The  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly  were  repeatedly  dis- 
solved and  prorogued  by  the  sovereign;*  and,  in  1703, 
when  the  Assembly  had  prepared  the  draft  of  an  act  for  the 
purpose  of  asserting  the  supremacy  of  Christ,  the  intrinsic 
power  of  the  Church,  and  the  divine  right  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian government,  it  was  abruptly  dissolved  by  her  majesty's 
commissioner,  without  any  recorded  protest.  "  But  ecclesias- 
tical independence  was  still  more  invaded,  and  spiritual  in- 
terests more  effectually  subjected  to  secular  dominion,  by  the 
restoration  of  the  power  of  lay-patrons,  after  it  had  been 
repeatedly  abolished.  The  power  of  patronage,  when  it  is  of 
any  real  effect  in  the  settlement  of  the  vacant  churches,  flows 
from  the  same  spring  with  the  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  and 
can  neither  be  vindicated  nor  condemned,  but  on  the  same 
principles  with  it;  and  is  indeed,  when  exercised  by  the 
Crown,  a  branch  of  it."  +  Without  referring  particularly  to 
those  recent  struggles  of  the  Church  to  vindicate  her  spiritual 
independence,  which  have  issued  in  the  disruption  of  the 
Scottish  Establishment,  there  is  nothing,  it  may  be  remarked, 
more  clearly  evinced  by  these  events,  than  the  determined 
resolution  of  the  State  to  retain  and  exercise  an  Erastian 

*  In  1691-95. 

t  Bruce's  Dissertation  on  the  Supremacy  of  Civil  Powers,  &c,  p.  105. 


SECT  1,  2.]         OF  COMMUNION  OP  SAINTS.  271 

power  over  the  Church.  But  the  Christian  people  of  Scotland 
have  given  the  most  unequivocal  proofs  of  their  continued  and 
firm  attachment  to  the  sole  supremacy  of  Christ  as  "  king  in 
Zion  " — a  truth  in  defence  of  which  their  ancestors  "  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death."  They  cannot  contend  or  suffer 
in  a  nobler  cause.  Those  who  assume  a  headship  over  the 
Church  of  Christ,  are  guilty  of  an  impious  usurpation  of  his 
prerogatives ;  and  his  faithful  subjects  are  bound  to  display 
their  loyalty  to  him,  by  asserting  his  sole  right  to  reign  and 
rule  in  his  own  Church,  and  by  giving  no  countenance  to  a 
claim  so  degrading  to  the  Church,  and  so  dishonouring  to  her 
alone  king  and  head. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

OF  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS. 

Section  I. — All  saints  that  are  united  to  Jesus  Christ, 
their  head,  by  his  Spirit,  and  by  faith,  have  fellowship 
with  him  in  his  graces,  sufferings,  death,  resurrection, 
and  glory.1  And  being  united  to  one  another  in  love, 
they  have  communion  in  each  other's  gifts  and  graces ; a 
and  are  obliged  to  the  performance  of  such  duties,  public 
and  private,  as  do  conduce  to  their  mutual  good,  both  in 
the  inward  and  outward  man.3 

Section  II. — Saints,  by  profession,  are  bound  to  main- 
tain an  holy  fellowship  and  communion  in  the  worship 
of  God,  and  in  performing  such  other  spiritual  services 
as  tend  to  their  mutual  edification  ;4  as  also  in  relieving 
each  other  in  outward  things,  according  to  their  several 
abilities  and  necessities.  Which  communion,  as  God 
offereth  opportunity,  is  to  be  extended  unto  all  those  who 
in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.5 

1  1  John  i.  3.    Eph.  Hi.  16-19.    John  I  3  1  Thess.  v.  11, 14.  Rom.  i.  11,  12,  14. 

i.113.   Eph.  ii.5,6.    Phil.  iii.  10.  1  John  iii.  16-18.     Gal.  vi.  10. 

Horn.  vi.  5,  6.  2  Tim.  ii.  12.  |  *  Heb.  x.  24,  25.  Acts  ii.  42, 46.  Isa. 
"   Eph.  iv.  15,16.     1   Cor.  xii.  7;  iii.  ii.  3.     1  Cor.  xi.  20. 

21-23.    Col.  ii.  19.  |  *  Acts  ii.  44.  45.     1  John  iii.    17.    2 

Cor.  viii.,  ix.    Acts  xi.  29,  30. 


272  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  C^HAP.  XXV 


EXPOSITION. 

Communion  is  founded  in  union.  The  above  sections  em- 
brace— First,  The  union  of  the  saints  to  Jesus  Christ,  and 
their  communion  with  him;  Secondly,  The  union  and  commu- 
nion of  real  saints  with  one  another;  Thirdly,  The  union  of 
saints  by  profession,  and  the  communion  which  they  are 
bound  to  maintain. 

1.  All  saints  are  united  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  not  an 
essential  union,  such  as  subsists  between  the  sacred  persons 
of  the  Godhead;  nor  a  personal  union,  such  as  exists  be- 
tween the  divine  and  human  natures  in  the  person  of  Christ; 
nor  merely  a  political  union,  like  that  between  a  king  and 
his  subjects;  nor  a  mere  moral  union,  like  that  between  two 
friends.  Between  Christ  and  believers  there  is  a  legal  union, 
like  that  betwixt  a  surety  and  the  person  for  whom  he  en- 
gages. This  union  was  formed  from  all  eternity,  when  Christ 
was  appointed  their  federal  head.  But,  besides  this,  there  is 
a  spiritual  union  formed  between  them  in  time,  of  which  our 
Confession  here  treats.  It  is  a  profound  mystery,  and,  for 
this  reason,  is  usually  denominated  a  mystical  union.  But, 
though  deeply  mysterious,  its  reality  cannot  be  questioned. 
Sometimes  it  is  expressed  in  Scripture  by  believers  being  in 
Christ :  "  There  is  now,  therefore,  no  condemnation  to  them 
which  are  in  Christ  Jesus." — Rom.  viii.  1.  At  other  times 
Christ  is  said  to  be  in  believers:  "  Know  ye  not  your  own- 
selves,  how  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  repro- 
bates."— 2  Cor.  xiii.  5.  Sometimes  both  modes  of  expression 
are  joined  together:  "  Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you." — John 
xv.  4.  This  union  is  exhibited  and  illustrated  in  Scripture 
by  various  similitudes.  It  is  compared  to  the  union  between 
a  tree  and  its  branches  (John  xv.  5) — to  the  union  between 
the  building  and  the  foundation  by  which  it  is  supported 
(1  Pet.  ii.  4,  6) — to  the  union  between  husband  and  wife 
(Eph.  v.  31,  32) — and  to  the  union  between  the  head  and  the 
members  of  the  body. — Eph.  iv.  15,  16.  These  similitudes, 
though  they  come  far  short  of  the  union  which  they  repre- 
sent, yet  clearly  import  its  reality.  In  all  unions,  there  is 
something  which  binds  together  the  things  or  persons  united. 
As  the  union  between  Christ  and  his  people  is  spiritual  in 
its  nature,  so  are  its  bonds;  and  these  are  the  Holy  Spirit  on 
Christ's  part,  and  faith  on  their  part.  Christ  apprehends 
them  by  his  Spirit,  and  they  receive  him  by  that  faith  which 
his  Spirit  produces  in  them.  Hence  he  is  said  to  dwell  in 
their  hearts  by  faith.  So  close  and  intimate  is  this  union, 
that  Christ  and  believers  are  said  to  be  one  spirit:  "He  that 


SECT.  1,  2.]      OF  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS.  273 

is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit"  with  him. — 1  Cor.  vi.  17. 
But  it  is  the  crowning  excellence  of  this  union,  that  it  can 
never  be  dissolved.  The  Holy  Spirit  will  never  depart  from 
any  in  whom  he  has  taken  up  his  residence. — John  xiv.  16, 17. 
Satan  and  all  his  agents,  with  all  their  combined  strength 
and  subtilty,  cannot  separate  one  soul  from  Christ. — Rom. 
viii.  38,  39.  Death  will  break  all  other  ties,  and  separate 
the  soul  from  the  body,  but  it  cannot  dissolve  the  union  be- 
tween Christ  and  believers.  Hence  they  are  said  to  "  die 
in  the  Lord,"  and  to  "  sleep  in  Jesus." — Rev.  xiv.  13;  1  Thess. 
iv.  14. 

Being  thus  united  to  Christ,  believers  have  fellowship  with 
him  in  his  sufferings  and  death,  and  are  therefore  said  to  be 
"crucified  and  dead  with  Christ." — Rom.  vi.  6,  8.  They 
have  also  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  resurrection;  for  they 
are  "raised  up  together  with  him,"  and  have  communion 
with  him  in  his  life. — Eph.  ii.  6;  Gal.  ii.  20.  They  have  fel- 
lowship with  him  in  his  victories.  He  spoiled  principalities 
and  powers,  overcame  the  world,  destroyed  death,  and  van- 
quished the  grave  for  them;  and  they  shall  be  made  more 
than  conquerors  over  all  these  enemies,  through  him. — Rom. 
viii.  37.  They  have  communion  with  him  in  all  the  benefits 
which  he  purchased;  hence  they  are  said  to  be  "  made  par- 
takers of  Christ,"  and  to  be  "  complete  in  him  who  is  the 
head  of  all  principality  and  power"  (Heb.  iii.  14;  Col.  ii. 
10) ; — they  have  an  interest  in  his  righteousness,  by  which 
he  fulfilled  the  law  in  their  room,  and  are  thus  entitled  to 
the  blessing  of  justification; — they  are  adopted  into  the 
family  of  heaven,  and  made  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs 
with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ; — they  are  sanctified  in  soul, 
body,  and  spirit,  being  enabled  by  his  grace  to  die  more 
and  more  unto  sin,  and  live  unto  righteousness; — they  now 
sit  in  heavenly  places  with  Christ  as  their  representing 
head;  and,  in  due  time,  they  shall  be  glorified  in  their  own 
persons  together  with  him. — Eph.  ii.  6;  Col.  ii.  4.  In  short, 
all  things  are  theirs,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  asserts;  and  he 
founds  their  title  to  all  things  upon  their  union  to  Christ : 
"  All  things  are  yours;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas, 
or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to 
come;  all  are  yours;  and  ye  are  Christ's;  and  Christ  is 
God's."— 1  Cor.  iii.  22,  23. 

2.  All  real  saints  are  united  to  one  another,  and  have 
communion  among  themselves.  They  form  one  body,  are 
all  united  to  Christ  as  their  common  head,  and  are  partakers 
of  one  Spirit.  They  have  all  obtained  like  precious  faith; 
and  their  faith,  as  to  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  is 
s 


274  CONFESSION  OP  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXVI. 

substantially  the  same.  They  are  also  united  in  love,  which 
is  called  "  the  bond  of  perfectness."  So  perfectly  were  the 
primitive  Christians  knit  together  by  this  bond,  that  they 
were  "  of  one  heart  and  of  one  soul." — Acts  iv.  32.  There 
is  nothing  which  our  Saviour  more  earnestly  inculcated  upon 
his  followers  than  mutual  love ;  he  represented  it  as  the 
best  proof  to  themselves,  and  the  most  decisive  evidence  to 
others,  that  they  were  his  genuine  disciples  :  "  A  new  com- 
mandment I  give  unto  you,  That  ye  love  one  another ;  as  I 
have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall 
all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one 
another." — John  xiii.  34,  35.  As  the  saints  "  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,"  so  they  love  all  in  whom  they  can 
perceive  the  image  of  Christ.  Being  thus  united  to  one 
another,  they  have  communion  with  each  other  in  their  gifts 
and  graces.  As  the  natural  body  consists  of  many  members — 
some  of  superior,  and  others  of  inferior  use,  and  each  mem- 
ber is  serviceable  to  its  fellow-members,  and  contributes  to 
the  good  of  the  whole — so  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  is 
composed  of  many  members,  endued  with  different  gifts  and 
graces ;  and  the  several  members  ought  to  be  profitable  to 
each  other,  and  promote  the  benefit  of  the  whole  Church. 
They  are  obliged  to  the  performance  of  such  duties  as  con- 
duce to  their  mutual  good.  They  ought  to  be  "  kindly 
affectioned  one  to  another,  with  brotherly  love;  in  honour 
preferring  one  another" — to  "  bear  one  anothers  burdens, 
and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ" — to  "  rejoice  with  them  that 
rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep" — to  offer  up  fer- 
vent "  supplication  for  all  saints " — and,  "  as  they  have 
opportunity,  do  good  to  all  men,  especially  to  them  who  are 
of  the  household  of  faith." 

3.  Saints  by  profession  are  also  united  in  one  body,  and 
bound  to  maintain  a  holy  fellowship  and  communion  with 
each  other.  Professed  saints  compose  the  Church  considered 
as  visible ;  and  of  this  society  unity  is  an  essential  attribute. 
This  union  is  not  confined  to  those  who  live  together,  and 
can  assemble  in  one  place  for  the  observance  of  religious 
ordinances ;  but  extends  to  "  all  that  in  every  place  call  upon 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs  and  ours." 
The  visible  bonds  of  this  unity  are  specified  by  the  Apostle 
Paul :  "  There  is  one  body  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are 
called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism ;  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and 
through  all,  and  in  you  all." — Eph.  iv.  4-6.  Our  Confession 
mentions  three  things  in  which  professed  saints  are  bound 
to  hold  fellowship  and  communion  with  one  another  :  First, 


SECT.  1,  2.]        OP  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS.  275 

They  ought  to  assemble  together  for  joining  in  the  public 
worship  of  God.  This  species  of  communion  was  assidu- 
ously maintained  by  the  early  Christians  :  "  They  continued 
steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine,  and  fellowship,  and  in 
breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers." — Acts  ii.  42.  When 
some,  at  a  later  period,  had  become  negligent  in  cultivating 
this  communion,  the  apostle  warned  them  against  "  for- 
saking the  assembling  of  themselves  together,  as  the  manner 
of  some  is."  "  The  institutions  of  the  gospel  were  intended 
as  a  bond  of  union  among  Christians;  and  by  the  joint 
celebration  of  them  communion  is  maintained  and  expressed. 
'  By  one  Spirit  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  body;'  and 
'  being  many,  we  are  one  bread  and  one  body;  for  we  are 
all  partakers  of  that  one  bread'  in  the  sacramental  com- 
munion.— 1  Cor.  x.  17,  xii.  13.  It  is  not  necessary  to  this 
unity  that  Christians  should  all  meet  for  worship  in  the  same 
place — this  is  physically  impossible;  nor  are  we  to  conceive 
of  Church  communion  as  local.  It  consists  in  their  celebrat- 
ing the  same  holy  ordinances — in  their  performing  acts  of 
worship  the  same  in  kind,  wherever  they  assemble;  and  in 
their  being  disposed  and  ready  to  embrace  every  proper 
occurring  opportunity  to  join  with  all  '  those  who  in  every 
place  call  on  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord,  both  theirs 
and  ours.'  Thus  it  was  in  the  primitive  Church ;  and  thus 
it  would  still  be  if  catholic  unity  were  preserved,  and  if 
the  institutions  of  Christ,  along  with  the  faith  to  which 
they  relate,  were  everywhere  preserved  pure  and  entire."* 
Secondly,  Professed  saints  ought  to  perform  such  other 
spiritual  services  as  tend  to  their  mutual  edification.  They 
are  enjoined  to  *  follow  after  the  things  wherewith  one  may 
edify  another." — Rom.  xiv.  19.  Among  the  "  services 
which  tend  to  mutual  edification,"  may  be  mentioned 
mutual  prayer;  spiritual  conference;  admonishing,  exhort- 
ing, and  provoking  one  another  to  love  and  good  works ; 
comforting  the  feeble-minded,  supporting  the  weak,  visiting 
and  encouraging  the  afflicted. — Mai.  iii.  16;  Col.  iii.  16; 
1  Thess.  v.  11,  14;  Heb.  x.  24.  Thirdly,  Professed  saints 
ought  to  relieve  each  other  in  outward  things,  according  to 
their  several  abilities  and  opportunities.  Not  a  few  who 
are  "  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  God 
hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him,"  are  poor  in  this 
world. — James  ii.  5.  Their  Christian  brethren,  who  have 
•  this  wrorld's  good,"  ought  to  sympathize  with  them,  and 
minister  to  their  necessities. — 1  John  iii.  17.  Sometimes 
Christians  in  one  country  suffer  "  the  spoiling  of  their 
•  M'Crie  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church,  pp.  19,  20. 


276  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  f  CHAP.  XXVI. 

goods,"  and  are  reduced  to  great  straits,  through  the  vio- 
lence of  persecution ;  in  such  cases,  their  brethren  in  other 
places  ought  to  contribute  liberally  for  their  relief.  This 
duty  was  nobly  exemplified  by  the  primitive  Christians :  "  It 
pleased  them  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain 
contribution  for  the  poor  saints  which  were  at  Jerusalem." — 
Rom.  xv.  25.  If  professing  Christians  in  one  district  are 
unable  of  themselves  to  provide  for  the  regular  dispensa- 
tion of  public  religious  ordinances  among  them,  it  is  no  less 
the  duty  of  their  brethren  who  are  placed  in  more  favour- 
able circumstances  to  afford  them  pecuniary  aid.  Thus  the 
strong  should  support  the  weak,  that  the  abundance  of  the 
one  may  be  a  supply  for  the  want  of  the  other,  that  there 
may  be  equality.  Ministering  to  the  saints  is  expressly 
called  "  fellowship." — 2  Cor.  viii.  4.  To  this  kind  of  commu- 
nion the  concluding  sentence  of  this  section  of  our  Confession 
may,  perhaps,  more  especially  refer :  "  Which  communion, 
as  God  offereth  opportunity,  is  to  be  extended  unto  all  those 
who,  in  every  place,  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 
This  sentence  is  closely  connected  with  the  clause  imme- 
diately preceding,  which  relates  to  "  relieving  each  other  in 
outward  things;"  and  the  whole  of  the  Scripture  proofs 
adduced  refer  either  to  the  Church  of  Jerusalem — which 
"  had  all  things  common" — or  to  the  saints  in  one  place 
"  sending  relief"  to  those  in  distant  places  who  were  im- 
poverished by  persecution.  It  will  be  admitted,  however, 
that  Christian  communion  of  a  more  extensive  nature,  in- 
cluding all  those  services  which  tend  to  mutual  edification, 
ought  to  be  maintained  with  all  that  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  as  opportunity  permits;  nay,  were  the  visible 
catholic  Church  what  it  ought  to  be,  according  to  the  rule  of 
God's  Word,  one  in  profession,  the  members  of  this  or  that 
particular  Church  would  be  entitled  to  enjoy,  and  bound  to 
hold,  Church  communion  wherever  Providence  might  order 
their  lot.  If  professed  Christians  throughout  the  world,  in- 
stead of  being  divided  into  diverse  and  opposing  sections, 
were  cemented  into  one  holy  brotherhood,  then,  whoever 
was  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  in  one  place, 
would  be  recognised  as  a  member  of  the  catholic  Church, 
and  would  be  entitled  to  claim  the  privilege  of  communion 
in  any  particular  Church  where  his  lot  was  cast.  On  the 
other  hand,  whoever  was  laid  under  censure  in  a  particular 
Church,  would  be  considered  under  the  same  in  all  others; 
and  would  not  be  received  into  communion  till  the  sentence 
were  reversed  by  the  same  power,  or  by  a  still  higher 
authority.     Thus  it  ought  to  be ;  and  thus  it  would  be,  were 


SECT.  3.]  OF  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS.  277 

that  unity  which  should  characterize  the  visible  Church, 
fully  realized.  But  in  the  present  state  of  the  Church, 
divided  and  subdivided  as  it  is  into  an  almost  countless 
number  of  sections,  all  of  them  contending  for  some  peculiar 
principle  or  practice  which  they  deem  important,  and  by 
which  they  are  not  only  distinguished  from,  but  opposed  to, 
other  denominations,  such  extended  Church  communion 
cannot  be  consistently  maintained.  It  will  scarcely  be 
questioned  that  separation  from  corrupt  Churches  becomes, 
in  certain  cases,  warrantable  and  necessary;  but  "  where 
communion  is  lawful,  it  will  not  be  easy  to  vindicate  separa- 
tion from  the  charge  of  schism."  *  If  a  particular  Church  is 
organized  for  the  special  purpose  of  vindicating  the  sole 
headship  of  Christ  and  the  spiritual  independence  of  his 
Church — were  the  members  of  that  Church  to  join  in  all  the 
intimacies  of  communion  with  another  Church  which  had 
either  avowedly  or  practically  surrendered  these  distinguish- 
ing principles,  they  would  virtually  declare  that  they  have 
no  scriptural  and  conscientious  grounds  for  separation,  and 
expose  themselves  to  the  charge  of  unnecessarily  rending 
that  body  which  Christ  so  fervently  prayed  might  be  "  one." 
Section  III. — This  communion  which  the  saints  have 
with  Christ,  doth  not  make  them  in  any  wise  partakers 
of  the  substance  of  his  Godhead,  or  to  be  equal  with 
Christ  in  any  respect :  either  of  which  to  affirm  is  impious 
and  blasphemous.6  Nor  doth  their  communion  one  with 
another,  as  saints,  take  away  or  infringe  the  title  or 
property  which  each  man  hath  in  his  goods  and  posses- 
sions.7 

■  Col.  i.  18,  19.    1  Cor.  viii.  6.      Isa.  1  »  Exod.  xx.  15.    Eph.  iv.  |28.     Acts 
xlii.  8.     1  Tim.  vi.  15,  16.      Ps.  v.  4. 

xlv.  7.    Heb.  i.  8,  9.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  guards  against  two  heretical  opinions — the 
one  relating  to  the  saints'  communion  with  Christ;  the  other, 
to  their  communion  with  one  another.  Certain  mystics  have 
employed  impious  and  blasphemous  terms  in  reference  to  the 
saints'  union  and  communion  with  Christ,  as  if  they  were 
deified  or  christified.  They  have  not  scrupled  to  use  the 
phrases  of  being  "  godded  in  God,"  and  "  christed  in  Christ," 
and  other  expressions  equally  wild.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  Anabaptists  of  Germany,  among  other 
absurd  and  dangerous  tenets,  contended  for  the  necessity  of 
a  community  of  goods  among  Christians.   This  doctrine  never 

*  M'Crio  on  tba  Unity  of  the  Church,  p.  95. 


278  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  XXVI. 

made  much  progress  in  this  country,  and  modern  Anabap- 
tists entirely  reject  it.  In  opposition  to  these  extravagant 
notions,  our  Confession  teaches  : — 

1.  That  the  saints'  communion  with  Christ  does  not  in- 
volve a  participation  of  the  substance  of  his  Godhead,  nor 
constitute  an  equality  between  him  and  them  in  any  respect. 
The  union  that  subsists  between  Christ  and  believers  leaves 
them  distinct  persons;  and  the  communion  which  believers 
have  with  Christ  does  not  raise  them  to  an  equality  with 
him  in  dignity.  They  cannot  participate  in  his  divine  ex- 
cellences, which  are  incommunicable ;  neither  can  they 
share  with  him  in  the  glory  of  his  mediatory  work.  He 
had  none  to  co-operate  with  him  in  that  arduous  work,  and 
he  alone  must  bear  the  glory;  as  the  saints  are  not  deified, 
neither  are  they  exalted  to  be  mediators  and  saviours  in  con- 
junction with  Christ. 

2.  That  the  saints'  communion  with  one  another  does  not 
take  away  or  infringe  upon  the  rights  of  private  property. 
The  perpetual  obligation  of  the  eighth  commandment,  the  ad- 
monitions of  the  New  Testament  to  charity  and  hospitality, 
the  particular  precepts  addressed  to  the  high  and  to  the 
low,  to  the  rich  and  to  the  poor — all  plainly  prove  that,  under 
the  gospel,  each  man  retains  a  property  in  his  goods  and 
possessions.  We  are  told,  indeed,  that  in  the  primitive 
Church  "all  that  believed  had  all  things  common,  and  sold 
their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men,  as 
every  man  had  need." — Acts  ii.  44,  45.  From  this  "it  has 
been  supposed  that  there  was  a  real  community  of  goods 
among  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem  ;  or  that  every  man,  re- 
nouncing all  right  in  his  property,  delivered  it  over  to  a 
public  stock,  to  which  all  had  an  equal  claim.  It  appears, 
however,  from  the  story  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  (Acts  v.  4), 
that  the  disciples  were  under  no  obligation,  or  bound  by  no 
positive  law,  to  dispose  of  their  property  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Church ;  and  that,  after  it  was  sold,  they  could  retain 
the  whole,  or  any  part  of  the  price,  provided  that  they  did 
not,  like  those  unhappy  persons,  practise  dissimulation  and 
deceit;  and  it  is  further  evident,  from  the  passage  we  have 
quoted,  that  although  in  many  instances  they  laid  down 
the  price  at  the  apostles'  feet,  intrusting  them  with  the  dis- 
tribution, yet  they  sometimes  reserved  it  in  their  own  hands, 
and  gave  it  to  the  indigent,  according  to  their  own  ideas  of 
their  need.  These  considerations  seem  to  prove,  that  there 
was  not  an  actual  community  of  goods  in  the  primitive 
Church;  but  that,  in  consequence  of  the  fervent  charity  which 
united  their  hearts  and  interests,  *  no  man,'  as  Luke  informs 


SECT.  1 .]  OP  THE  SACRAMENTS.  279 

us  in  the  fourth  chapter, '  said  that  ought  of  the  things  which 
he  possessed  was  his  own,'  or  appropriated  them  to  his  own 
use,  but  readily  parted  with  them  for  the  supply  of  his 
brethren.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem  was  followed  by  any  other  Church, 
even  in  the  apostolic  age ;  but  as  far  as  it  is  an  example  of 
generous  love  triumphing  over  the  selfish  affections,  and 
exciting  men  to  pursue  the  welfare  of  others  as  their  own,  it 
is  worthy  to  be  imitated  to  the  end  of  the  world."  * 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

OF  THE  SACRAMENTS. 

Section  I. — Sacraments  are  holy  signs  and  seals  of 
the  covenant  of  grace,1  immediately  instituted  by  God,2 
to  represent  Christ  and  his  benefits,  and  to  confirm  our 
interest  in  him ; 3  as  also  to  put  a  visible  difference 
between  those  that  belong  unto  the  Church  and  the  rest 
of  the  world  ; 4  and  solemnly  to  engage  them  to  the 
service  of  God  in  Christ,  according  to  his  Word.5 

1  Rom.  iv.  11.    Gen.  xvii.  7,  10.  I  *  Rom.  xv.  8.    Exod.  xii.  48.    Gen* 

2  Matt,  xxviii.  19.     1  Cor.  xi.  23.  xxxiv.  14. 

3  1  Cor.  x.  16 ;  xi.  25,  26.     Gal.  iii.  |  6  Rom.  vi.  3,  4.     1  Cor.  x.  16,  21. 

27,  17.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

The  word  sacrament  is  not  found  in  the  Scriptures,  but  is 
derived  from  the  Latin  language.  It  was  used  by  the  Romans 
to  signify  their  military  oath,  or  the  oath  by  which  soldiers 
bound  themselves  to  be  faithful  to  their  general,  and  not  to 
desert  his  standard;  and  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  applied 
to  the  symbolical  institutions  of  the  Church,  because  in  these 
we,  as  it  were,  enlist  in  the  service  of  Christ,  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  and  engage  to  follow  him  whithersoever  he 
leads  us.  But  it  may  be  remarked,  that  the  early  Christian 
writers  employed  the  term  sacrament  (sacr amentum);  as 
equivalent  to  the  scriptural  term  mystery  {pvam^ov)-,  and 
in  the  Vulgate  the  latter  word  is  always  translated  by  the 
former.  There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  term  mysteries  was 
early  applied  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  partly  be- 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  lect.  iii. 


280  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.        [CHAP.  XXVII. 

cause,  under  external  symbols,  spiritual  blessings  were  vailed, 
and  partly  also  on  account  of  the  secrecy  with  which  Chris- 
tians, in  times  of  persecution,  were  obliged  to  celebrate  them; 
and  as  the  Latins  used  the  word  sacrament  as  synonymous 
with  mystery,  it  has  been  thought  that  we  are  in  this  way  to 
account  for  its  application  to  these  symbolical  institutions. 

The  express  institution  of  God  is  essentially  requisite  to 
constitute  a  sacrament.  No  ordinances  ought  to  be  observed 
in  the  Christian  Church  but  such  as  have  been  appointed  by 
Christ,  her  alone  king  and  head.  He  only  can  have  authority 
to  institute  sacraments,  who  has  power  to  confer  the  bless- 
ings which  are  thereby  represented  and  applied.  No  rite, 
therefore,  can  deserve  the  name  of  a  sacrament,  unless  it 
bear  the  stamp  of  divine  institution. 

Socinians  represent  the  sacraments  as  being  merely  solemn 
badges  by  which  the  disciples  of  Jesus  are  discriminated 
from  other  men.  It  is  readily  granted  that  they  are  badges 
of  the  disciples  of  Christ,  by  which  they  are  distinguished 
from  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and  Heathens;  but  this  is  not  their 
chief  design.  They  are  principally  "  signs  and  seals  of  the 
covenant  of  grace."  Circumcision  is  expressly  Called  a  sign 
and  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  faith  (Rom.  iv.  11);  and  the 
same  description  is  equally  applicable  to  the  sacraments  of 
the  New  Testament.  As  signs,  they  represent  and  exhibit 
Christ  and  the  blessings  of  the  new  covenant  to  us;  as  seals, 
they  ratify  our  right  to  them,  and  confirm  our  faith. 

The  principal  uses  and  ends  of  the  sacraments  are,  to  re- 
present Christ  and  his  benefits — to  confirm  the  believer's 
interest  in  Christ  and  his  blessings — to  distinguish  between 
the  members  of  the  visible  Church,  and  those  that  are  with- 
out— and  solemnly  to  engage  them  to  the  service  of  God  in 
Christ,  according  to  his  Word. 

Section  II. — There  is  in  every  sacrament  a  spiritual 
relation,  or  sacramental  union,  between  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified ;  whence  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  names 
and  effects  of  the  one  are  attributed  to  the  other.6 

«  Gen.  xvii.  10.    Matt.  xxvi.  27,  28.    Tit.  iii.  5. 
EXPOSITION. 

The  parts  of  a  sacrament  are  two — the  sign  and  the  thing 
signified.  The  sign  is  something  sensible  and  visible — that 
may  be  seen  and  handled.  Thus,  the  outward  sign  in  bap- 
tism is  water,  which  is  visible  to  us ;  and  the  outward  signs 
in  the  Lord's  supper  are  bread  and  wine,  which  are  also  visible, 
and  which  we  can  handle  and  taste.     The  things  signified 


SECT.  3.]  OP  THE  SACRAMENTS.  281 

are  Christ  and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant.  These  are 
called  the  matter  of  the  sacrament.  The  form  consists  in  the 
spiritual  relation  or  sacramental  union,  established  between 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  by  the  divine  institution. 
Though  there  is  some  analogy  or  resemblance  between  the 
outward  signs  and  the  things  signified,  yet  their  sacramental 
union  depends  entirely  upon  the  institution  of  Christ.  "From 
this  union  arises  what  has  been  called  sacramental  phraseo- 
logy, or  certain  expressions  in  which  the  names  of  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified  are  exchanged.  Thus,  the  name  of 
the  sign  is  given  to  the  thing  signified,  when  Christ  is  called 
'our  passover;'  and  the  name  of  the  thing  signified  is  given 
to  the  sign,  when  the  bread  is  called  the  body  of  Christ. 
The  foundation  of  this  interchange  is  the  sacramental  union, 
which  so  couples  them  together  that  the  one  may  be  pre- 
dicated of  the  other."  * 

Section  III. — The  grace  which  is  exhibited  in  or  by 
the  sacraments,  rightly  used,  is  not  conferred  by  any 
power  in  them  :  neither  doth  the  efficacy  of  a  sacrament 
depend  upon  the  piety  or  intention  of  him  that  doth 
administer  it,7  but  upon  the  work  of  the  Spirit,8  and  the 
word  of  institution ;  which  contains,  together  with  a 
precept  authorizing  the  use  thereof,  a  promise  of  benefit 
to  worthy  receivers.9 

1  Rom.  ii.  28,  29.    1  Pet.  iii.  21.  «  Matt.  iii.  11.     1  Cor.  xii.  13, 

9  Matt.  xxvi.  27,  28 ;  xxviii.  19,  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  is  levelled  against  two  tenets  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  That  Church  holds  that  the  sacraments,  when 
rightly  administered,  are  of  themselves  effectual  to  confer 
grace ;  and  that  the  intention  of  the  priest  or  administrator 
is  essential  to  a  sacrament ;  so  that  if  a  priest  goes  through 
all  the  forms  of  administering  baptism  or  the  Lord's  supper, 
and  does  not  in  his  own  mind  intend  to  administer  it,  it  is  in 
fact  no  sacrament.  That  the  sacraments  themselves  cannot 
confer  saving  grace  is  evident ;  for  if  they  had  this  power  in 
themselves,  they  would  be  equally  effectual  to  all  who  receive 
them.  But  many  are  partakers  of  the  sacraments,  who  are 
not  partakers  of  the  grace  of  God.  Simon  Magus  was  bap- 
tized, and  yet  remained  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the 
bond  of  iniquity. — Acts  viii.  13,  23.  That  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacraments  does  not  depend  upon  the  intention  of  the  adminis- 
*  Dick's  Lectures  on  Theology,  vol.  iv  ,  p.  118. 


282  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXVII. 

trator  is  not  less  evident;  for  this  would  place  the  adminis- 
trator in  God's  stead,  whose  sole  prerogative  it  is  to  render 
the  sacraments  effectual  for  the  purposes  designed  by  them. 
Besides,  in  this  case,  no  one  eould  be  certain  that  he  had  re- 
ceived the  sacraments;  because  he  could  not  be  absolutely 
certain  of  the  intention  of  another.  In  opposition  to  these 
absurd  tenets,  we  maintain  that  the  efficacy  of  the  sacra- 
ments depends  upon  the  working  of  the  Spirit  on  the  souls 
of  the  receivers ;  and  upon  the  word  of  institution,  which 
contains  a  precept  authorizing  the  use  of  these  ordinances, 
and  a  promise  of  benefit  by  them  to  the  worthy  receivers. 

Section  IV. — There  be  only  two  sacraments  ordained 
by  Christ  our  Lord  in  the  gospel ;  that  is  to  say,  baptism 
and  the  supper  of  the  Lord ;  neither  of  which  may  be 
dispensed  by  any  but  by  a  minister  of  the  Word,  lawfully 
ordained.10 

10  Matt,  xxviii.  19.    1  Cor.  xi.  20,  23;  iv.  1.    Heb.  v.  4. 
EXPOSITION. 

We  acknowledge  only  two  sacraments  instituted  by  Christ 
in  the  gospel,  and  these  are  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper; 
the  former  being  the  sign  and  seal  of  our  spiritual  birth,  and 
the  latter  of  our  spiritual  nourishment.  The  Church  of  Rome 
has  added  five  spurious  sacraments — ordination,  marriage, 
confirmation,  penance,  and  extreme  unction.  None  of  these 
have  any  divine  appointment  as  sacraments;  and  the  three 
last,  as  used  by  Papists,  have  no  warrant  at  all  from  Scripture. 
None  of  them  are  seals  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and,  there- 
fore, they  are  no  sacraments,  but  are  to  be  considered  as 
gross  corruptions  of  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  Christian 
ritual.  In  opposition,  also,  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  which 
permits  laymen  and  women  to  administer  the  sacrament  of 
baptism  in  cases  of  necessity,  our  Confession  asserts  that 
none  but  a  minister  of  the  Word,  lawfully  ordained,  has  any 
warrant  to  dispense  the  sacraments. 

Section  V. — The  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament, 
m  regard  of  the  spiritual  things  thereby  signified  and 
exhibited,  were,  for  substance,  the  same  with  those  of 
the  New.11 

11  1  Cor.  x.  1-4. 
EXPOSITION. 

The  ordinary  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament  were  cir- 
cumcision and  the  passover ;  the  former  being  now  super- 


SECT.  I.]  OP  BAPTISM.  283 

ceded  by  baptism,  and  the  latter  by  the  Lord's  supper.  The 
sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament  represented  Christ  as  to  come, 
while  those  of  the  New  Testament  represent  Christ  as  al- 
ready come ;  and  by  the  latter  spiritual  blessings  are  exhibited 
in  a  more  clear  and  plain  manner  than  by  the  former.  But 
in  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  asserts  that  the 
sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament  were  no  more  than  shadows 
of  that  grace  which  those  of  the  New  Testament  actually 
confer,  we  maintain  that,  in  respect  of  the  spiritual  blessings 
signified  and  exhibited,  the  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  substantially  the  same  with  those  of  the  New.  Both 
were  signs  and  seals  of  the  same  righteousness  of  faith. — 
Rom.  iv.  11.  Both  agree  in  the  word  of  promise. — Gen.  xvii. 
7  j  Acts  ii.  38,  39. 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

OF  BAPTISM. 

Section  I. — Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New 
Testament,  ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,1  not  only  for  the 
solemn  admission  of  the  party  baptized  into  the  visible 
Church,2  but  also  to  be  unto  him  a  sign  and  seal  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,3  of  his  ingrafting  into  Christ,4  of  re- 
generation,5 of  remission  of  sins,6  and  of  his  giving  up 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  walk  in  newness  of 
life  : 7  which  sacrament  is,  by  Christ's  own  appointment, 
to  be  continued  in  his  Church  until  the  end  of  the  world." 

1  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  I  «  Tit.  iii.  5. 

2  1  Cor.  xii.  13.  6  Mark  i.  4. 

■  Rom.  iv.  11.     Col.  ii.  11,  12.  |  7  Rom.  vi.  3,  4. 

*  Gal.  iii.  27.     Rom.  vi.  5.  |  8  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section,  in  the  frxt  place,  Affirms  that  baptism  is  a 
sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,  instituted  by  Christ,  and 
to  be  continued  in  bis  Church  until  the  end  of  the  world; 
and,  secondly.  Declares  the  ends  of  baptism. 

I.  Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,  insti- 


284  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.         fcHAP.  XXVIII. 

tuted  by  Christ.  John,  the  harbinger  of  Christ,  was  the  first 
who  administered  baptism  by  divine  authority.  The  Lord 
"  sent  him  to  baptize  with  water;"  and  "  there  went  out  unto 
him  all  the  land  of  Judea,  and  they  of  Jerusalem,  and  were 
all  baptized  of  him  in  the  river  of  Jordan,  confessing  their 
sins." — John  i.  33;  Mark  i.  4.  Jesus,  after  he  entered  on  his 
public  ministry,  employed  his  apostles  to  baptize  those  who 
came  to  him ;  for  "  Jesus  himself  baptized  not,  but  his  dis- 
ciples."— John  iv.  2.  The  baptism  of  John  was  a  sign  of  faith 
in  Christ  as  shortly  to  be  revealed ;  whereas  the  baptism  of 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  was  an  expression  of  faith  in  him  as 
already  come.  But  baptism  was  not  formally  appointed  as 
a  perpetual  ordinance  in  the  New  Testament  Church  until 
after  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  when  he  gave  the  following 
commission  to  his  disciples :  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach," 
or  make  disciples  of,  "  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world." — Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.  These  words  not 
only  contain  an  express  institution  of  baptism,  but  also  a 
plain  intimation  of  the  will  of  Christ  that  this  ordinance 
should  be  continued  in  the  Church  in  all  succeeding  ages;  for 
he  promised  to  be  with  his  disciples  in  executing  his  com- 
mission, not  only  to  the  end  of  that  age,  but  "  to  the  end  of 
the  world."  Baptism  has,  accordingly,  continued  to  be  prac- 
tised by  all  sects  of  Christians,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Quakers.  It  appears  to  them  that,  as  it  is  the  distinguishing 
character  of  the  gospel  to  be  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit, 
the  baptism  of  water  was  only  a  temporary  institution,  and 
is  now  superseded  by  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  But  it  can- 
not be  questioned,  that  the  apostles  did  use  the  baptism  of 
water  after  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  had  commenced. 
The  Apostle  Peter  makes  a  distinction  between  being  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  Christ  and  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  he  actually  dispensed  baptism  to  those  who  had  pre- 
viously received  the  Holy  Ghost. — Acts  ii.  38,  x.  47.  It 
appears,  therefore,  to  have  been  the  judgment  of  Peter,  that 
the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  does  not  supercede  the  baptism  of 
water. 

II.  This  section  declares  the  ends  of  baptism: — 1.  It  is  a 
solemn  admission  of  the  party  baptized  into  the  visible 
Church,  and  to  all  its  privileges.  "  It  supposes  the  party 
to  have  a  right  to  these  privileges  before,  and  does  not 
make  them  members  of  the  visible  Church,  but  admits  them 
solemnly  thereto.  And  therefore  it  is  neither  to  be  called  nor 


SECT  2.]  OF  BAPTISM.  285 

accounted  christening — that  is,  making  them  Christians :  for 
the  infants  of  believing  parents  are  born  within  the  covenant, 
and  so  are  Christians  and  visible  Church  members;  and  by 
baptism  this  right  of  theirs  is  acknowledged,  and  they  are 
solemnly  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  Church  membership."  * 
2.  It  is  a  sign  and  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  of 
the  benefits  of  that  covenant.  These  benefits  are,  ingraft- 
ing into  Christ,  or  union  with  him ;  the  remission  of  sins  by 
virtue  of  the  blood  of  Christ ;  and  regeneration  by  the  Spirit 
of  Christ.  It  is  not  intended  that  remission  of  sins  and  re- 
generation are  inseparably  connected  with  baptism;  for  our 
Confession,  in  a  subsequent  section,  expressly  guards  against 
the  opinion  "  that  all  that  are  baptized  are  undoubtedly  re- 
generated." 3.  It  is  a  sign  and  seal  of  the  party  baptized 
being  devoted  to  God,  and  engaged  to  walk  in  newness  of 
life.  Baptism  is  a  dedicating  ordinance,  in  which  the  party 
baptized  is  solemnly  given  up  to  God  to  be  his  and  for  him, 
now,  wholly,  and  for  ever.  He  is,  as  it  were,  enlisted  under 
Christ's  banner,  to  fight  against  the  devil,  the  world,  and  the 
flesh.  He  is  bound  to  renounce  every  other  lord  and  master, 
and  to  "  serve  God  in  holiness  and  righteousness  all  the  days 
of  his  life." 

Section  II. — The  outward  element  to  be  used  in  this 
sacrament  is  water,  wherewith  the  party  is  to  be  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  by  a  minister  of  the  gosnel,  lawfully 
called  thereunto.9 

9  Matt.  iii.  11.    John  i.  33.    Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20 
EXPOSITION. 

This  section  embraces  the  following  points: — l.That  the 
outward  element  to  be  used  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  is 
water.  This  outward  sign  represents  the  blood  and  Spirit  of 
Christ — Rev.  i.  5;  Tit.  iii.  5.  As  water  has  a  cleansing  vir- 
tue for  removing  defilements  from  the  body,  so  the  blood 
of  Christ  removes  the  guilt  of  sin  and  cleanses  the  defiled 
conscience,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  purifies  the  soul  from  the 
pollution  of  sin.  2.  That  baptism  is  to  be  administered  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  To  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  signifies  that  we  are  baptized 
by  the  authority  of  the  persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity;  that 
we  are  baptized  into  the  faith  and  profession  of  the  blessed 
Trinity;  and  that  we  are  solemnly  devoted  to  the  service 

*  Boston's  Complete  Body  of  Divinity,  vol.  iii.,  p.  307. 


286  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXVIII. 

of  these  divine  persons.  3.  That  baptism  is  to  be  dispensed 
by  a  lawfully  ordained  minister  of  the  gospel.  They  only 
have  authority  to  administer  baptism  who  have  received  a 
commission  from  Christ  to  preach  the  gospel. — Matt,  xxviii. 
19.  We  have  no  acount  of  any  one  dispensing  the  ordi- 
nance in  the  primitive  Church,  but  such  as  were  called, 
either  ordinarily  or  extraordinarily,  to  the  work  of  the  mi- 
nistry. It  is  the  unfounded  opinion  that  baptism  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  salvation,  that  has  led  the  Church  of  Rome 
to  permit  this  rite  to  be  performed  by  laymen  and  women 
in  cases  of  urgent  necessity. 

Section  III. — Dipping  of  the  person  into  the  water 
is  not  necessary;  but  baptism  is  rightly  administered  by 
pouring  or  sprinkling  water  upon  the  person.10 

10  Heb.  ix.  10,  19-22.     Acts  ii.  41;  xvi.  33.    Mark  vii.  4. 
EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  mode  of  administering  baptism. 
This  is  a  subject  which  has  occasioned  much  controversy 
among  Christians,  and  the  dispute  is  still  carried  on  with  un- 
abated zeal.  A  large  and  respectable  body  of  Christians 
strenuously  contend  that  baptism  can  only  be  valid  when 
performed  by  immersion,  or  by  dipping  the  whole  body  under 
water.  Our  Confession  does  not  deny  that  baptism  may  be 
lawfully  performed  by  immersion ;  but  maintains  that  it  is 
rightly  administered  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  water  on  the 
person.  No  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  the  word  baptize, 
or  from  the  original  term ;  for  it  has  been  most  satisfactorily 
proved  that  it  signifies  to  wash  with  water  in  any  way.  Several 
instances  of  the  administration  of  baptism  are  recorded  in 
the  New  Testament;  and  in  some  of  these  cases  it  is  not 
credible  that  baptism  was  performed  by  immersion.  When 
three  thousand  were  baptized  in  one  day,  it  cannot  be  con- 
ceived that  the  apostles  were  capable  of  dipping  all  this 
multitude  in  so  short  a  space  of  time.  When  whole  families 
were  baptized  in  their  own  houses,  it  cannot  be  thought  that, 
on  every  occasion,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  could  be 
found  for  immersion.  Besides,  the  application  of  the  spiritual 
benefit  signified  by  baptism  is  in  Scripture  frequently  ex- 
pressed by  sprinkling  and  pouring  out. — Isa.  xliv.  3;  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  25;  Heb.  x.  22 ;  xii.  24 ;  Tit.  iii.  5, 6.  It  may  be  added, 
that  baptism  by  immersion  cannot,  in  some  cases,  be  dispensed 
with  convenience  or  decorum ;  nor  in  some  countries,  and  at 
certain  seasons,  without  endangering  the  health  of  the  body. 
This  affords,  at  least,  a  strong  presumption  against  the  absolute 


SECT.  4.]  OF  BAPTISM.  287 

necessity  of  dipping  the  person  into  the  water ;  and  from  all 
these  considerations  we  must  conclude  that  it  is  sufficient  and 
most  expedient  to  administer  baptism  by  sprinkling  or  pour- 
ing water  on  the  person. 

Section  IV. — Not  only  those  that  do  actually  profess 
faith  in  and  obedience  unto  Christ,11  but  also  the  infants 
of  one  or  both  believing  parents  are  to  be  baptized.12 

11  Mark  xvi.  15,  16.    Acts  vfii.  37,  38. 1  Rom.  iv.  11,  12.    1  Cor.  vii.  11. 

12  Gen  xvii.  7,  9.      Gal.  Hi.  9,    14.  Matt,  xxviii.19.    Mark  x.  13-16. 

Col.  ii.  11,  12.    Acts  ii.  38,  39.  J  Luke  xviii.  15. 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  relates  to  the  subjects  of  baptism.  That  baptism 
is  to  be  administered  to  all  adult  persons  who  profess  their 
faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  him,  and  who  have  not  been 
baptized  in  their  infancy,  is  admitted  by  all  who  acknowledge 
the  divine  institution  of  this  ordinance.  But  there  are  many 
who  confidently  assert  that  baptism  ought  to  be  confined  to  • 
adults.  These  were  originally  called  Anabaptists,  because  they 
rebaptized  those  who  had  received  baptism  in  their  infancy, 
and  Antiprcdobaptists,  because  they  were  opposed  to  the  bap- 
tism of  infants.  They  now  assume  the  name  of  Baptists ;  but 
this  designation  we  cannot  concede  to  them,  if  it  be  intended 
to  insinuate  that  others  do  not  baptize,  and  are  not  baptized, 
agreeably  to  the  principles  of  the  gospel.*  Our  Confession 
affirms,  that  "  the  infants  of  one  or  both  believing  parents 
are  to  be  baptized."  This  might  be  confirmed  by  numerous 
arguments ;  but  only  a  few  of  them  can  be  here  stated  with 
the  utmost  brevity.  1.  The  infants  of  believing  parents  are  I 
to  be  considered  as  within  the  covenant,  and  therefore  en-  ' 
titled  to  receive  its  seal.  The  covenant  which  God  made 
with  Abraham  was  substantially  the  same  with  that  under 
which  believers  now  are.  This  appears  by  comparing  Gen. 
xvii.  7,  where  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  is  expressed, 
with  Heb.  viii.  10,  where  the  new  covenant  is  expressed.  In 
the  one,  the  promise  is :  "I  will  establish  my  covenant  be- 
tween me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  genera- 
tions, for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and 
to  thy  seed  after  thee ;"  and  in  the  other :  "  I  will  be  to  them 
a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people."  We  thus  find, 
that  when  God  established  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  he 
embraced  his  infant  seed  in  that  covenant ;  and  that  the  pro- 
mise made  to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed  is  still  indorsed  to  us 
is  evident  from  the  express  declaration  of  the  Apostle  Feter 
*  D wight,  Ser.  147. 


288  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.        ^CHAP.  XXVIII. 

(Acts  ii.  39):  "  The  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  children." 
If  children  are  included  in  the  covenant,  we  conclude  that 
they  have  a  right  to  baptism,  the  seal  of  the  covenant.  2. 
Infants  were  the  subjects  of  circumcision  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament dispensation ;  and  as  baptism  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment has  come  in  the  room  of  circumcision,  we  conclude 
that  infants  have  a  right  to  baptism  under  the  present  dis- 
pensation. That,  under  the  Old  Testament,  the  infants  of 
God's  professing  people  were  to  be  circumcised,  cannot  be 
doubted;  for  the  command  is  express:  "  Every  man-child 
among  you  shall  be  circumcised." — Gen.  xvii.  10.  That  bap- 
tism has  now  come  in  the  room  of  circumcision  is  evident 
from  Col.  ii.  1 1,  where  it  is  called  "  the  circumcision  of  Christ." 
It  must  therefore  follow,  either  that  the  privileges  of  the 
Church  are  now  greatly  abridged,  or  else  that  the  children  of 
the  members  of  the  Church  now  are  to  be  admitted  to  bap- 
tism, as  they  were  to  circumcision  under  the  former  dispen- 
sation. 3.  That  the  children  of  professing  Christians  are 
members  of  the  visible  Church,  and  therefore  entitled  to  bap- 
tism, appears  from  the  words  of  our  Saviour  (Luke  xviii.  16): 
"  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not; 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  By  "  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  we  apprehend  is  to  be  here  understood  the  Church  on 
earth ;  and  if  children  are  members  of  the  visible  Church,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  they  have  a  right  to  baptism,  the  sign 
of  admission.  But  if  by  "  the  kingdom  of  God"  be  under- 
stood the  state  of  glory,  the  inference  is  strong  that,  being 
heirs  of  eternal  life,  they  ought  not  to  be  denied  that  ordi- 
nance which  is  the  seal  of  their  title  to  it.  4.  The  warrant- 
ableness  of  infant  baptism  may  be  inferred  from  the  com- 
mission of  the  apostles  to  baptize  "  all  nations,"  which  cer- 
tainly includes  infants;  and  from  the  practice  of  the  apostles, 
who  baptized  "  households,"  upon  a  profession  of  faith  by 
their  domestic  heads.  Paul  baptized  Lydia  "  and  her  house- 
hold," the  Philippian  jailer  "and  alibis,"  and  "  the  household 
of  Stephanas." — Acts  xvi.  15, 33 ;  1  Cor.  i.  16.  "  Now,  though 
we  are  not  certain  that  there  were  young  children  in  any  of 
these  families,  it  is  highly  probable  there  were.  At  any  rate, 
the  great  principle  of  family  baptism,  of  receiving  all  the 
younger  members  of  households  on  the  faith  of  their  domestic 
head  seems  to  be  plainly  and  decisively  established.  This 
furnishes  ground  on  which  the  advocate  of  infant  baptism 
may  stand  with  unwavering  confidence."  *  5.  That  the  in- 
fants of  believing  parents  ought  to  be  baptized ;  and  that  it 
is  sufficient  if  one  of  the  parents  be  a  member  of  the  visible 
*  Miller  on  Infant  Baptism. 


SECT.  4-.]  OF  BAPTISM.  289 

Church,  is  evident  from  1  Cor.  vii.  14:  "  For  the  unbelieving 
husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife 
is  sanctified  by  the  husband:  else  were  your  children  un- 
clean ;  but  now  are  they  holy."  "  The  word  unclean,  in  al- 
most all  instances  in  the  Scriptures,  denotes  that  which  may 
not  be  offered  to  God,  or  may  not  come  into  his  temple.  Of  this 
character  were  the  heathen  universally ;  and  they  were,  there- 
fore, customarily  and  proverbially,  denominated  unclean  by 
the  Jeics.  The  unbelievers  here  spoken  of  were  heathen, 
and  were,  therefore,  unclean.  In  this  sense,  the  children 
born  of  two  heathen  parents  are  here  pronounced  to  be  unclean 
also,  as  being,  in  the  proper  sense,  heathen.  To  be  holy,  as 
here  used,  is  the  converse  of  being  unolean,  and  denotes  that 
which  may  be  offered  to  God.  To  be  sanctified,  as  referring  to  the 
objects  here  mentioned,  is  to  be  separated  for  religious  purposes, 
consecrated  to  God — as  were  the  first-born,  and  vessels  of  the 
temple ;  or  to  be  in  a  proper  condition  to  appear  before  God.  In 
this  text  it  denotes,  that  the  unbelieving  parent  is  so  purified 
by  means  of  his  relation  to  the  believing  parent,  that  their 
mutual  offspring  are  not  unclean,  but  may  be  offered  unto 
God.  There  is  no  other  sense  in  which  a  Jew  could  have 
written  this  text,  without  some  qualification  of  these  words. 
The  only  appointed  way  in  which  children  may  be  offered  to 
God  is  baptism.  The  children  of  believing  parents  are,  there- 
fore, to  be  offered  to  God  in  baptism."  * 

The  objections  usually  brought  forward  against  the  war- 
rantableness  of  infant  baptism,  are  either  frivolous  in  them- 
selves, or  proceed  from  mistaken  views  of  the  ordinance.  Is 
it  urged,  that  in  the  New  Testament  we  have  no  express  in- 
junction to  baptize  the  infants  of  professing  Christians  ?  This, 
we  reply,  is  precisely  what  might  have  been  expected,  be- 
cause the  Church-membership  of  the  children  of  God's  pro- 
fessing people  was  fully  established  under  the  Old  Testament, 
and  their  admission  by  the  rite  of  circumcision  was  a  privi- 
lege well  known,  and  universally  extended  to  them;  so  that, 
unless  it  had  been  designed  to  abridge  the  privileges  of  the 
children  of  believing  parents  under  the  New  Testament,  there 
was  no  occasion  for  any  explicit  injunction  to  baptize  their 
children.  But  no  hint  is  given  in  the  New  Testament  that 
the  privilege  of  infants,  which  had  been  so  long  enjoyed  un- 
der the  former  dispensation,  was  to  be  withdrawn ;  and  as 
the  privilege  is  not  revoked,  it  must  be  continued.  Is  it 
asked,  What  benefit  can  infants  derive  from  baptism  ?  With 
equal  propriety,  we  reply,  it  might  have  been  asked,  What 
benefit  can  a  child,  eight  days  old,  derive  from  circumcision  ? 
*  Dwight's  Theology,  Serm.  158. 
T 


290  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.        [CHAP.  XXVIII. 

To  put  such  a  question  is  almost  impious,  because  it  implies 
an  impeachment  of  the  wisdom  of  God.  He  appointed  cir- 
cumcision to  be  administered  to  infants  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament ;  and  with  equal  propriety  is  baptism  administered  to 
them  under  the  New  Testament.  Is  it  objected,  that  we 
have  no  express  example  of  the  baptism  of  infants  under 
the  New  Testament  ?  All  the  cases  of  baptism  recorded  in 
the  New  Testament,  we  reply,  are  cases  in  which  it  was  ad- 
ministered to  converts  from  Judaism  or  Paganism  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  if  we  do  not  find  it  explicitly  stated,  that  any 
infant  born  of  Christian  parents  was  baptized,  as  little  do  we 
find  any  example  of  those  who  were  born  of  Christian  parents 
being  baptized  in  adult  age.  This  entirely  accords  with  our 
practice  at  the  present  day.  We  baptize  adult  converts  from 
among  Jews  or  Heathens ;  and  as  the  apostles  baptized  "  house- 
holds "  on  the  faith  of  their  domestic  heads,  we  also  consider 
ourselves  warranted  to  baptize  the  children  of  professing 
Christians.  But  those  who  defer  the  baptism  of  the  children 
of  professing  Christians  until  they  arrive  at  adult  age,  have 
no  precedent  or  example  for  their  practice ;  for,  though  the 
Book  of  the  Acts  contains  the  history  of  the  Church  for  up- 
wards of  thirty  years,  in  which  time  the  children  of  those 
who  were  first  baptized  by  the  apostles  must  have  reached 
maturity,  yet  we  have  no  record  of  the  baptism  of  a  single 
individual  born  of  Christian  parents.  From  this  silence,  we 
justly  infer  that  they  must  have  been  baptized  in  their  in- 
fancy; and  we  defy  the  advocates  of  adult  baptism  to  adduce 
a  single  scriptural  example  of  their  practice.  Is  it  urged, 
that  infants  cannot  profess  their  faith  in  Christ  ?  We  re- 
ply, that  when  faith,  or  the  profession  of  it,  is  spoken  of  as 
a  prerequisite  to  baptism,  it  is  always  supposed  that  the  sub- 
jects of  it  are  capable  of  instruction  ;  and  that  if  this  proved 
anything,  it  would  prove  too  much;  for  this  objection,  if 
valid  against  infant  baptism,  must  also  be  valid  against  infant 
salvation,  since  the  Scripture  connects  faith  and  the  pro- 
fession of  it,  in  the  case  of  adults,  with  the  one  as  well  as 
the  other. 

Section  V Although  it  he  a  great  sin  to  contemn 

or  neglect  this  ordinance,13  yet  grace  and  salvation  are 
not  so  inseparably  annexed  unto  it,  as  that  no  person 
can  be  regenerated  or  saved  without  it,14  or  that  all  that 
are  baptized  are  undoubtedly  regenerated.15 

13  Luke  vii.  30.  Exod.  iv.  24-26.     «  Rom.  iv.  11.   Acts  x.  2,  4,22,  31,  45,  47. 
18  Acts  viii.  13,  23. 


SECT.  6,  7.]  OP  BAPTISM.  291 

EXPOSITION. 

This  section  affirms — 1.  That  baptism  is  not  of  such  abso- 
lute necessity  to  salvation,  that  none  can  be  saved  without  it. 
God  has  not  made  baptism  and  faith  equally  necessary. — 
Mark  xvi.  16.  The  penitent  thief  was  saved  without  being 
baptized.  But  baptism  is  an  instituted  means  of  salvation, 
and  the  contempt  of  it  must  be  a  great  sin  on  the  part  of  the 
parents,  though  the  neglect  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  child 
before  he  arrives  at  maturity,  and  cannot,  therefore,  involve 
him  in  the  guilt.  2.  That  baptism  is  not  regeneration,  nor 
are  all  who  are  baptized  undoubtedly  regenerated.  That 
the  baptism  of  water  is  regeneration,  and  that  every  person 
duly  baptized  is  born  again,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
Rome;  and  this  doctrine  has  been  embraced  by  many  in 
Protestant  Churches,  and  receives  too  much  countenance 
from  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  is  a  very 
dangerous  doctrine;  and  that  it  has  no  warrant  from  Scrip- 
ture appears  from  the  case  of  Simon  Magus,  who  after  bap- 
tism remained  "  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the  bond  of 
iniquity." — Acts  viii.  13, 23.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Corinthians, 
says  :  "  I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  none  of  you,  but  Crispus 
and  Gaius."  But  if  baptism  be  regeneration,  his  meaning 
must  be  :  "I  thank  God  that  I  regenerated  none  of  you." 
And  could  Paul  really  give  thanks  to  God  on  this  account  ? 
How  absurd  the  idea!  "  Christ,"  says  he,  "sent  me  not  to 
baptise."  But  can  it  be  thought  that  Christ  did  not  send  the 
chief  of  the  apostles  to  promote  the  great  work  of  regenera- 
tion? Unquestionably  Paul  made  a  great  difference  between 
baptism  and  regeneration. 

Section  VI. — The  efficacy  of  baptism  is  not  tied  to 
that  moment  of  time  wherein  it  is  administered; ia  yet 
notwithstanding,  by  the  right  use  of  this  ordinance,  the 
grace  promised  is  not  only  offered,  but  really  exhibited 
and  conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  such  (whether  of  age 
or  infants)  as  that  grace  belongeth  unto,  according  to 
the  counsel  of  God's  own  will,  in  his  appointed  time.17 

Section  VII — The  sacrament  of  baptism  is  but  once 
to  be  administered  to  any  person.18 

16  John  iii.  5,  8.      17  Gal.  iii.  27.     Tit.  iii.  5.     Eph.  v.  25,  26.     Acts  ii.  38,  41. 
18  Tit.  iii.  5. 

EXPOSITION. 

1.  The  efficacy  of  baptism  is  not  confined  to  the  moment 
of  administration;  but  though  not  effectual  at  the  time  it  is 


292  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIX. 

administered,  it  may  afterwards  be  effectual,  through  the 
working  of  the  Spirit. — John  iii.  5, 8. 

2.  Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered  to  any  person  oftener 
than  once.  This  is  plain  from  the  nature  of  the  ordinance.  It 
is  a  solemn  admission  of  the  person  baptized  as  a  member  of 
the  visible  Church;  and  though  those  that  "walk  disorderly" 
are  to  be  cast  out,  yet  there  is  no  hint  in  Scripture  that,  when 
re-admitted,  they  are  to  be  baptized  again.  The  thing  signi- 
fied by  baptism  cannot  be  repeated,  and  the  engagements 
come  under  can  never  be  disannulled. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  naming  of  the  baptized  person 
is  no  part  of  this  institution.  The  custom  of  publishing  the 
child's  name  at  baptism  probably  arose  from  the  practice  of 
the  Jews  at  their  circumcision. — Luke  i.  59-63.  It  belongs 
to  the  parent  to  give  a  name  to  his  child,  and  this  may  be 
done  before  baptism.  There  may  be  a  propriety  in  publish- 
ing the  name  of  the  person  baptized,  who  is  then  admitted  a 
member  of  the  visible  Church;  but  this  is  by  no  means  essen- 
tial to  baptism,  nor  even  any  part  of  the  ordinance. 

We  ought  to  improve  our  baptism,  especially  when  we  are 
present  at  the  administration  of  it  to  others,  "  by  serious  and 
thankful  consideration  of  the  nature  of  it,  and  of  the  ends  for 
which  Christ  instituted  it,  the  privileges  and  benefits  confer- 
red and  sealed  thereby,  and  our  solemn  vows  made  therein ; 
by  being  humbled  for  our  sinful  defilement,  our  falling  short 
of,  and  walking  contrary  to,  the  grace  of  baptism,  and  our 
engagements ;  by  growing  up  to  assurance  and  pardon  of  sin, 
and  of  all  other  blessings  sealed  to  us  in  that  sacrament ;  by 
drawing  strength  from  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ, 
into  whom  we  are  baptized,  for  the  mortifying  of  sin  and 
quickening  of  grace ;  and  by  endeavouring  to  live  by  faith, 
to  have  our  conversation  in  holiness  and  righteousness,  as 
those  that  have  therein  given  up  their  names  to  Christ,  and 
to  walk  in  brotherly  love,  as  being  baptized  by  the  same 
Spirit  into  one  body."  * 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

OF    THE  LORD'S   SUPPER. 

Section  I. — Our  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  night  wherein  he 
was  betrayed,  instituted  the  sacrament  of  his  body  and 

*  The  Larger  Catechism.    Quest.  167. 


SECT.  1.]  OF  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  293 

blood,  called  the  Lord's  Supper,  to  be  observed  in  his 
Church  unto  the  end  of  the  world,  for  the  perpetual  re- 
membrance of  the  sacrifice  of  himself  in  his  death,  the 
sealing  all  benefits  thereof  unto  true  believers,  their 
spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  him,  their  further 
engagement  in  and  to  all  duties  which  they  owe  unto 
him,  and  to  be  a  bond  and  pledge  of  their  communion 
with  him,  and  with  each  other,  as  members  of  his  mystical 
body.1 

1  1  Cor.  xi.  23-26 ;   x.  16, 17,  21 ;  xii.  13. 

EXPOSITION. 
This  chapter  treats  of  the  Lord's  supper;  and  the  present 
section  declares — 1.  The  author  of  this  sacrament;  2.  The 
time  of  its  institution;    3.  Its  permanent  continuance  in  the 
Church;    4,  The  uses  and  ends  for  which  it  is  designed. 

I.  The  author  of  this  sacrament  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  the  prerogative  of  Christ,  as  king  and  head  of  the 
Church,  to  institute  religious  ordinances;  and  we  are  not  at 
liberty  to  add  to,  or  to  diminish  from,  his  appointments.  The 
institution  of  this  ordinance  by  our  Saviour  is  recorded  by 
the  three  first  Evangelists  (Matt.  xxvi.  26-28;  Mark  xiv. 
22-24;  Luke  xxii.  19,  20),  and  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  who 
declares  that  he  "  had  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  he 
delivered  "  to  the  Church.— 1  Cor.  xi.  23-26. 

II.  This  sacrament  was  instituted  by  our  Lord  Jesus  "  the 
same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed."  It  was  when  Jesus 
was  eating  the  passover  with  his  disciples  that  he  instituted 
this  sacred  ordinance;  from  which  circumstance  we  infer 
that  the  one  was  changed  into  the  other,  and  that  the  latter 
was  henceforth  to  supply  the  place  of  the  former.  This  also 
accounts  for  the  designation  usually  given  to  this  sacrament. 
Being  instituted  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  being  ap- 
pointed by  him  immediately  after  eating  the  passover,  which 
was  always  celebrated  in  the  evening,  it  is  with  the  utmost 
propriety  called  the  Lord's  supper.  When  we  reflect  on  the 
time  of  the  institution  of  this  ordinance,  we  have  a  striking 
view  of  the  fortitude  with  which  Jesus  met  his  unparalleled 
sufferings,  and  of  the  singular  love  which  he  cherished 
towards  his  people;  and  Ave  ought  to  feel  the  sacred  obliga- 
tion laid  upon  us  to  keep  this  feast.  On  that  night  the 
Jewish  rulers  and  the  chief  priests  were  met  in  close  cabal, 
to  concert  measures  for  apprehending  Jesus,  and  bringing 
him  to  an  ignominious  death.  In  that  night  he  was  to  be 
perfidiously  betrayed  by  one  of  his  own  disciples,  denied  by 


294  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [[CHAP.  XXIX. 

another,  and  abandoned  by  them  all  to  the  rage  of  his 
malicious  foes.  He  was  to  be  smitten  by  the  sword  of  Justice, 
and  forsaken  of  his  God — to  be  cruelly  mocked  and  scourged 
— to  be  led  away  to  a  cross,  and  there  to  pour  out  his  soul 
unto  death.  Of  all  this  Jesus  was  fully  apprized;  yet  in  the 
immediate  view  of  the  dreadful  sufferings  he  was  about  to 
undergo,  such  was  the  calm  serenity  of  his  mind,  such  his 
matchless  love  to  his  people,  and  such  his  concern  for  their 
spiritual  benefit,  that  he  instituted  this  ordinance  for  their 
encouragement  and  consolation  in  all  succeeding  ages.  Did 
he  remember  them  in  such  affecting  circumstances? — and 
shall  not  this  engage  them  to  remember  him  ? — shall  they  un- 
dervalue, by  a  wilful  neglect,  an  ordinance  which  he  settled 
immediately  before  his  death,  and  disregard  the  dying  com- 
mand of  that  friend  who  laid  down  his  life  for  them  ? 

III.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  is  to  be  observed 
in  the  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world.  This  is  plainly  im- 
plied in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  Paul :  "  For  as  often  as  ye 
eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come" — I  Cor.  xi.  26.  So  universally  has  it 
been  understood  that  the  observance  of  this  ordinance  is  ob- 
ligatory upon  all  Christians  to  the  end  of  the  world,  that, 
with  the  exception  only  of  the  Quakers,  it  has  been  observed 
in  the  Christian  Church  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present 
day. 

IV.  The  ends  and  uses  of  this  sacrament  are  various. 
1.  It  was  instituted  to  be  a  memorial  of  the  death  of  Christ. 
That  it  is  a  commemorative  ordinance,  appears  from  the 
Saviour's  words:  "  This  do  in  remembrance  of  me;"  and  that 
it  is  especially  a  memorial  of  his  death,  is  evident  from  his 
words  in  distributing  the  elements.  While  he  gave  the  bread 
to  his  disciples,  he  said :  "  This  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for 
you ;"  and  of  the  cup  he  said :  "This  cup  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  my  blood."  The  ordinance  is  eminently  fitted  to  bring 
to  our  remembrance  the  reality  and  the  painful  nature  of 
the  death  of  Christ — to  remind  us  of  the  vicarious  nature  of 
his  death,  of  its  acceptableness  to  God  as  a  satisfaction  for 
our  sins,  and  of  its  present  and  perpetual  efficacy.  And  we 
should  remember  his  death  with  a  lively  and  appropriating 
faith ;  with  ardent  love  to  him  who  first  loved  us ;  with  deep 
contrition  for  our  sins,  the  procuring  cause  of  his  death ;  with 
holy  joy  in  God ;  and  with  the  warmest  gratitude  to  Christ, 
who  gave  himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God 
for  a  sweet-smelling  savour.  2.  This  sacrament  seals  the 
benefits  of  Christ's  death  unto  true  believers.  It  seals  not 
the  truth  of  Christ's  death,  nor  the  truth  of  their  faith;  but 


SECT.  2.]  OF  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  295 

it  seals  the  right  and  interest  of  faith,  as  the  seal  affixed  to  a 
deed  seals  the  right  and  interest  of  the  person  in  the  property 
conveyed  by  that  deed.  3.  It  promotes  the  spiritual  nourish- 
ment and  growth  of  believers.  A  devout  participation  of 
this  ordinance  is  fitted  to  confirm  and  invigorate  their  faith, 
to  enfiame  their  love,  to  deepen  their  godly  sorrow,  to  enliven 
their  joy,  and  to  enlarge  and  strengthen  their  hopes  of  the 
Saviour's  second  coming,  and  of  the  glory  then  to  be  revealed. 

4.  It  is  a  sign  and  pledge  of  the  believers'  communion  with 
Christ.  This  is  evident  from  the  words  of  Paul  (1  Cor.  x. 
16):  "  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  com- 
munion of  the  blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is 
it  not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ? "  These  words 
certainly  import  that,  in  the  holy  supper,  believers  have  com- 
munion with  Christ  in  the  fruits  of  his  sufferings  and  death. 

5.  It  is  an  emblem  of  the  saints'  communion  with  each 
other.  All  true  saints  are  members  of  one  body,  and  in 
the  holy  supper  they  have  communion,  not  merely  with  those 
who  sit  along  with  them  at  the  same  table,  but  "  with  all 
that  in  every  place  call  on  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,"  their 
common  Lord.  "  We  being  many,"  says  Paul,  "  are  one 
bread,  and  one  body;  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one 
bread." — 1  Cor.  x.  17.  This  ordinance  is  very  expressive 
of  the  communion  of  saints,  and  has  a  powerful  tendency  to 
cherish  it.  They  meet  together  at  the  same  table,  as  brethren 
and  children  of  the  same  family,  to  partake  of  the  same 
spiritual  feast.  6.  In  this  ordinance  believers  engage  them- 
selves to  all  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  Christ.  They 
acknowledge  him  as  their  master,  and  engage  to  do  whatso- 
ever he  has  commanded  them.  Persons  may  come  under 
engagements  by  performing  certain  significant  actions,  as 
well  as  by  express  words.  Submission  to  the  ordinance  of 
circumcision,  under  the  former  dispensation,  made  a  man  "  a 
debtor  to  do  the  whole  law."  Baptism,  in  like  manner,  under 
the  Christian  dispensation,  involves  an  engagement  to  be  the 
Lord's;  and  Christians,  in  partaking  of  the  Lord's  supper, 
renew  this  engagement.  They  acknowledge  that  they  are  not 
their  own,  but  are  bought  with  a  price,  and  bind  themselves 
to  glorify  God  with  their  bodies  and  spirits  which  are  his. 

Section  II. — In  this  sacrament  Christ  is  not  offered 
up  to  his  Father,  nor  any  real  sacrifice  made  at  all  for 
remission  of  sins  of  the  quick  or  dead ; 2  but  only  a 
commemoration  of  that  one  offering  up  of  himself  by  him- 

*  Heb.  ix.  22,  25,  26,  28. 


296 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XXIX. 


self,  upon  the  cross,  once  for  all,  and  a  spiritual  oblation 
of  all  possible  praise  unto  God  for  the  same ; 3  so  that 
the  Popish  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  as  they  call  it,  is  most 
abominably  injurious  to  Christ's  one  only  sacrifice,  the 
alone  propitiation  for  all  the  sins  of  the  elect.4 

Section  III. — The  Lord  Jesus  hath,  in  this  ordinance, 
appointed  his  ministers  to  declare  his  word  of  institution 
to  the  people,  to  pray,  and  bless  the  elements  of  bread 
and  wine,  and  thereby  to  set  them  apart  from  a  common 
to  a  holy  use ;  and  to  take  and  break  the  bread,  to  take 
the  cup,  and  (they  communicating  also  themselves)  to 
give  both  to  the  communicants  ; 5  but  to  none  who  are 
not  then  present  in  the  congregation. 6 

Section  IV. — Private  masses,  or  receiving  this  sacra- 
ment by  a  priest,  or  any  other  alone; 7  as  likewise  the 
denial  of  the  cup  to  the  people ; 8  worshipping  the  ele- 
ments, the  lifting  them  up,  or  carrying  them  about  for 
adoration,  and  the  reserving  them  tor  any  pretended 
religious  use ;  are  all  contrary  to  the  nature  of  this 
sacrament,  and  to  the  institution  of  Christ.9 

Section  V. — The  outward  elements  in  this  sacrament, 
duly  set  apart  to  the  uses  ordained  by  Christ,  have  such 
relation  to  him  crucified,  as  that  truly,  yet  sacramentally 
only,  they  are  sometimes  called  by  the  name  of  the  things 
they  represent,  to  wit,  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ ; 10 
albeit,  in  substance  and  nature,  they  still  remain  truly 
and  only  bread  and  wine,  as  they  were  before.11 

Section  VI. — That  doctrine  which  maintains  a  change 
of  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine  into  the  substance  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood  (commonly  called  Transub- 
stantiation),  by  consecration  of  a  priest,  or  by  any  other 
way,  is  repugnant  not  to  Scripture  alone,  but  even  to 
common  sense  and  reason ;  overthroweth  the  nature  of 
the  sacrament;  and  hath  been,  and  is,  the  cause  of 
manifold  superstitions,  yea,  of  gross  idolatries.12 


3  1  Cor.  xi  24-26.    Matt.  xxvi.  26, 27. 
*  Heb.  vii.  23,  24,  27;  x.  11,  12,  14,  18. 
8  Matt.  xxvi.  26-28.    Markxiv.  22-24. 
Luke  xxii.   19,  20.     1   Cor.  xi. 
23-26. 
Acts  xx.  7.     1  Cor.  xi.  20. 
7  1  Cor.  x.  6. 


8  Mark  xiv.  23.     1  Cor.  xi.  25-29. 

9  Matt.  xv.  9. 

10  Matt.  xxvi.  26-28. 

11  1    Cor.   xi.   26-28.        Matt.  xxvi. 

29. 

12  Acts  iii.  21.  1  Cor.xi.  24-26.  Luke 

xxiv.  6,  39. 


SECT.  2-6.]  OP  THE  lord's  supper.  297 


EXPOSITION. 

In  these  sections  certain  dangerous  errors  and  superstitious 
practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  condemned ;  and  we 
nave  placed  all  these  sections  together,  that  we  may  include 
the  leading  error,  called  transubstantiation,  which  has  given 
rise  to  the  absurd  doctrine  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and 
the  various  other  tenets  and  practices  here  rejected. 

I.  The  Church  of  Rome  holds  that  the  words,  "  This  is  my 
body,"  and,  "  This  is  my  blood,"  are  to  be  understood  in  their 
most  literal  sense;  and  that  the  priest,  by  pronouncing  these 
words,  with  a  good  intention,  changes  the  substance  of  the 
bread  and  wine  into  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
which  change  is  known  by  the  name  of  transubstantiation.  This 
doctrine  receives  no  support  from  Scripture,  but  is  founded 
on  a  gross  perversion  of  its  language.  The  words,  "  This  is 
my  body,"  and,  "  This  is  my  blood,"  were  manifestly  used  by 
our  Saviour  in  a  figurative  sense;  and  must  have  been  so  un- 
derstood by  the  apostles,  to  whom  they  were  immediately 
addressed.  Such  figurative  expressions  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence in  Scripture.  No  one  supposes  that,  when  our  Lord 
said,  "  I  am  the  vine,"  "  I  am  the  way,"  "  I  am  the  door,"  he 
meant  us  to  understand  that  he  is  literally  a  vine,  a  way,  and 
a  door ;  and  no  satisfactory  reason  can  be  assigned  for  under- 
standing the  words  of  institution  in  a  literal  sense.  Our 
Saviour  plainly  meant  that  the  bread  and  wine  signify  or  re- 
present his  body  and  blood ;  and  nothing  is  more  common  in 
Scripture  than  to  affix  to  a  type  or  symbol  the  name  of  the 
thing  signified  by  it;  thus  circumcision  is  called  God's  cove- 
nant (Gen.  xvii.  10);  the  paschal  lamb,  the  passover  (Exod. 
xii.  11);  and  the  smitten  rock,  Christ. — 1  Cor.  x.  4.  But, 
not  only  is  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  destitute  of  any 
support  from  the  inspired  writings,  it  is  repugnant  to  Scripture; 
for  the  Apostle  Paul  gives  to  the  elements  after  blessing  the 
very  same  names  they  had  before  it ;  which  certainly  inti- 
mates that  there  is  no  change  of  their  substance. — 1  Cor.  xi. 
26,  28.  It  is  also  contradicted  by  our  senses;  for  we  see  and 
taste  that  the  bread  and  wine  after  blessing,  and  when  we 
actually  receive  them,  still  continue  to  be  bread  and  wine, 
without  any  change  or  alteration  whatever.  It  is  equally 
repugnant  to  reason;  for  this  tells  us  that  Christ's  body  can- 
not be  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth  at  the  same  time ;  but 
according  to  the  Popish  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  though 
the  body  of  Christ  remains  in  heaven,  it  is  also  present,  not 
in  one  place  on  earth  only,  but  in  a  thousand  places — wherever 
the  priest  has,  with  a  isood  intention,  pronounced  the  words 


298  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXIX. 

of  institution.  This  doctrine  likewise  overthrows  the  nature  of 
the  sacrament.  Two  things  are  necessary  to  a  sacrament — a 
sign  and  a  thing  signified — an  object  presented  to  our  senses, 
and  some  promised  blessing  which  is  represented  and  sealed 
by  it.  But  by  transubstantiation  the  sign  is  annihilated,  and 
the  thing  signified  is  put  in  its  place. 

Transubstantiation  is  not  only  contrary  to  Scripture,  and 
reason,  and  common  sense,  but  it  has  been,  and  is,  the  cause  of 
manifold  superstitions,  yea,  of  gross  idolatries.  In  the  fourth 
section,  several  of  these  superstitious  and  idolatrous  practices 
are  specified.  Conceiving  that  the  bread  and  wine  are 
changed  into  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  Papists 
reserve  part  of  the  consecrated  wafers,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  them  to  the  sick,  or  other  absent  persons,  at  some 
future  time.  In  direct  opposition  to  the  command  of  Christ, 
"  Drink  ye  all  of  it,"  they  deny  the  cup  to  the  people;  on  the 
pretence  that,  as  the  bread  is  changed  into  the  body  of  Christ, 
they  partake,  by  concomitancy,  of  the  blood  together  with 
the  body.  When  the  priest  is  supposed  to  have  changed  the 
bread  into  the  body  of  Christ,  he  adores  it  with  bended  knee, 
and  rising,  lifts  it  up,  that  it  may  be  seen  and  adored  by  the 
people — which  is  called  the  elevation  of  the  host;  it  is  also 
carried  about  in  solemn  procession,  that  it  may  receive  the 
homage  of  all  who  meet  it;  and,  in  short,  it  is  worshipped  as 
if  it  were  Christ  himself.  All  these  practices  are  declared  by 
our  Confession  to  be  "  contrary  to  the  nature  of  this  sacra- 
ment, and  to  the  institution  of  Christ."  They  were  unknown 
in  the  primitive  ages  of  the  Church,  and  have  evidently 
originated  in  the  absurd  doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 

II.  In  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  priest  being  supposed  to 
have  changed  the  bread  and  wine  into  the  very  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  it  is  also  conceived  that,  in  laying  upon  the 
altar  what  has  been  thus  transubstantiated,  he  offers  to  God  a 
sacrifice  which,  although  it  be  distinguished  from  all  others 
by  being  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  is  a  true,  proper,  and 
propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead.  This  is 
called  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  As  this  is  founded  upon 
the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  if  the  one  be  unscriptural 
so  must  the  other.  But  we  may  adduce  a  few  of  those 
pointed  declarations  of  Scripture,  by  which  this  particular 
doctrine  is  refuted.  "  Once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  he 
appeared,  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  "  Christ 
was  once  offered,  to  bear  the  sins  of  many."  "  We  are  sancti- 
fied through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for 
all."  "  By  one  offering  he  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that 
are  sanctified."— Heb.  ix.  26,  28;  x.  10, 14.  These  texts,  and 


SECT.  7, 8.]         OP  the  lord's  supper.  299 

they  might  easily  be  greatly  multiplied,  clearly  prove  that 
the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ,  once  offered  by  himself,  is  sufficient 
and  perfect ;  and  we  are  expressly  told  that  "there  remaineth 
no  more  sacrifice  for  sins." — Heb.  x.  26.  In  the  language 
of  our  Confession,  therefore,  "  the  Popish  sacrifice  of  the 
mass  is  most  abominably  injurious  to  Christ's  one  only  sacri- 
fice— the  alone  propitiation  for  all  the  sins  of  the  elect." 

III.  The  right  manner  of  dispensing  the  sacrament  of  the 
supper  is  here  declared.  The  minister  is  to  read  the  word 
of  institution  to  the  people,  to  pray,  and  bless  the  elements 
of  bread  and  wine,  and  thereby  to  set  them  apart  from  a 
common  to  a  holy  use.  It  is  not  pretended  that  any  real 
change  is  thereby  made  upon  the  elements,  but  only  a  rela- 
tive change,  so  that  they  are  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  com- 
mon bread  and  wine,  but  as  the  sacred  symbols  of  Christ's 
body  and  blood.  The  minister  is  also  to  take  and  break  the 
bread.  The  breaking  of  the  bread  is  an  essential  part  of  this 
ordinance,  and  represents  the  breaking  of  the  body  of  Christ 
under  the  burden  of  our  sins.  To  divide  the  bread  into  small 
pieces,  called  wafers,  and  put  a  wafer  into  the  mouth  of  each 
of  the  communicants,  is  a  corruption  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  takes  away  the  significant  action  of  breaking  the  bread. 
The  minister  is  further  to  take  the  cup,  and  give  both  the 
elements  to  the  communicants.  And  as  really  as  the  bread 
and  wine  are  given  to  the  communicants,  so  Christ  gives 
himself,  with  all  his  benefits,  to  the  worthy  receivers ;  and  in 
taking  these  elements — in  eating  the  bread  and  drinking  the 
wine — they  profess  to  receive  Christ  by  faith,  and  to  rest 
their  hope  of  pardon  and  salvation  solely  upon  his  death. 

Section  VII. — "Worthy  receivers,  outwardly  partak- 
ing of  the  visible  elements  in  this  sacrament,13  do  then 
also  inwardly  by  faith,  really  and  indeed,  yet  not  carnally 
and  corporally,  but  spiritually,  receive  and  feed  upon 
Christ  crucified,  and  all  benefits  of  his  death  :  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  being  then  not  corporally  or  carnally 
in,  with,  or  under  the  bread  and  wine ;  yet  as  really,  but 
spiritually,  present  to  the  faith  of  believers  in  that  ordi- 
nance as  the  elements  themselves  are  to  their  outward 


Section  VIII — Although  ignorant  and  wicked  men 
receive  the  outward  elements  in  this  sacrament,  yet  they 
receive  not  the  thing  signified  thereby  ;  but  by  their  un- 

13  1  Cor.  xi.  28.  "  1  Cor.  x.  16. 


300  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XXIX. 

worthy  coming  thereunto  are  guilty  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord,  to  their  own  damnation.  Wherefore 
all  ignorant  and  ungodly  persons,  as  they  are  unfit  to 
enjoy  communion  with  him,  so  are  they  unworthy  of 
the  Lord's  table,  and  cannot,  without  great  sin  against 
Christ,  while  they  remain  such,  partake  of  these  holy 
mysteries,15  or  be  admitted  thereunto.16 

15  1  Cor.  xi.  27-29.    2  Cor.  vi.  14-16.        16  1  Cor.  v.  6,  7,  13.    2  Thess.  iii.  6, 
14,  15.    Matt  vii.  6. 

EXPOSITION. 

In  the  preceding  sections  we  have  a  strong  condemnation 
of  the  Popish  doctrine  respecting  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  and  here  we  have  an  explicit  condemnation  of  the 
Lutheran  doctrine.  The  Lutherans  hold,  that  although  the 
bread  and  wine  are  not  changed  into  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  yet  that  his  real  body  and  blood  are  received  by  the 
communicants  along  with  the  symbols.  This  is  called  con- 
substantiation,  to  signify  that  the  substance  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  is  present  in,  with,  or  under  the  substance  of 
the  elements.  "  This  opinion,  although  free  from  some  of 
the  absurdities  of  transubstantiation,  appears  to  us  to  labour 
under  so  many  palpable  difficulties,  that  we  are  disposed  to 
wonder  at  its  being  held  by  men  of  a  philosophical  mind.  It 
is  fair,  however,  to  mention,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  real 
presence  is,  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  merely  a  speculative 
opinion,  having  no  influence  upon  the  practice  of  those  by 
whom  it  is  adopted.  It  appears  to  them  that  this  opinion 
furnishes  the  best  method  of  explaining  a  Scripture  expres- 
sion; but  they  do  not  consider  the  presence  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  with  the  bread  and  wine  as  imparting  to  the 
sacrament  any  physical  virtue,  by  which  the  benefit  derived 
from  it  is  independent  of  the  disposition  of  him  by  whom  it 
is  received;  or  as  giving  it  the  nature  of  a  sacrifice;  or  as 
rendering  the  bread  and  wine  an  object  of  adoration  to  Chris- 
tians. And  their  doctrine  being  thus  separated  from  the 
three  great  practical  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  receives, 
even  from  those  who  account  it  false  and  irrational,  a  kind 
of  indulgence  very  different  from  that  which  is  shown  to  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation."  * 

While  our  Confession  rejects  the  doctrine  of  the  Papists 
and  of  the  Lutherans,  respecting  the  Lord's  supper,  it  teaches 
that  "  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  as  really,  but  spiritu- 
ally, present  to  the  faith  of  believers  in  that  ordinance,  as 
*  Hill's  Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  352 


SECT  7,  8.]  OF  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER.  301 

the  elements  themselves  are  to  their  outward  senses." 
Christ  is  not  present  in  body  at  his  table;  and,  therefore,  we 
cannot  see  him  there  after  the  flesh;  but  he  is  present 
spiritually,  and  may  be  discerned  by  faith.  From  this  it 
follows  that  the  participation  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  in 
the  holy  supper,  is  spiritual.  There  is  an  external  repre- 
sentation and  confirmation  of  it,  in  participating  of  the 
sacred  and  instituted  elements,  which  symbolize  the  broken 
body  and  shed  blood  of  Christ.  And  while  the  worthy  re- 
ceivers outwardly  partake  of  the  visible  elements  in  this 
sacrament,  they  inwardly,  by  faith,  receive  and  feed  upon 
Christ  crucified,  and  the  benefits  of  his  death. 

From  the  nature  and  ends  of  this  sacrament,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  ignorant  and  ungodly  are  unfit  for  partaking  of  it. 
They  may  receive  the  outward  elements;  but  they  receive 
not  the  thing  signified  thereby.  As  they  are  unfit  for  com- 
munion with  Christ,  so  they  are  unworthy  of  occupying  a 
seat  at  his  table.  They  cannot  venture  to  approach  to  it 
without  contracting  a  great  sin,  and  exposing  themselves  to 
the  judgments  of  God.  The  Scripture  declares,  that  "  who- 
soever shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup  of  the  Lord 
unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
Lord;"  and  that  such  "eat  and  drink  damnation  to  them- 
selves."— 1  Cor.  xi.  27,  29.  Not  that  all  unworthy  commu- 
nicants must  necessarily  perish  eternally.  The  word  in  our 
version  unhappily  rendered  "  damnation,"  properly  signifies 
judgment;  and  the  judgment  intended  must  be  determined  by 
the  context.  That  the  judgments  inflicted  on  the  Corinthians 
were  chiefly  of  a  temporal  nature  is  evident  from  the  words 
that  are  immediately  added:  "For  this  cause  many  are 
weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and  many  sleep."  Temporal 
judgments  may  be  still  inflicted  for  the  profanation  of  this 
ordinance,  but  those  of  a  spiritual  nature  are  chiefly  to  be 
dreaded;  and  this  sin,  if  unrepented,  must,  like  other  sins, 
expose  to  eternal  punishment.  This  being  the  case,  it  must 
be  the  duty  of  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church  to  be  careful 
in  excluding  the  ignorant  and  ungodly  from  this  ordinance. 
All  were  not  permitted  to  eat  of  the  passover;  neither  ought 
there  to  be  a  promiscuous  admission  of  all  to  the  Lord's 
table.  To  admit  the  immoral  and  scandalous,  is  to  profane 
the  ordinance,  and  to  corrupt  the  communion  of  the  Church. 
But  those  who  have  a  right  to  this  ordinance  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church,  who  can  only  judge 
of  their  knowledge  and  external  conduct,  may  have  no  right 
to  it  in  the  sight  of  God.  Every  one,  therefore,  ought  im- 
partially and  faithfully  to  examine  himself  as  to  his  state  be- 


302  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXX. 

fore  God,  and  his  consequent  right  to  partake  of  that  feast 
which  he  has  prepared  for  his  children.  The  injunction  of 
the  apostle  is  express,  and  he  enjoins  self-examination  as  a 
means  of  preventing  the  sin  of  unworthy  communicating: 
"  But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread,  and  drink  of  that  cup."— 1  Cor.  xi.  28. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

OF   CHURCH   CENSURES. 

Section  I. — The  Lord  Jesus,  as  king  and  head  of  his 
Church,  hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in  the 
hand  of  Church  officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magis- 
trate.1 

1  Isa.  ix.  6,  7.    1  Tim.  v.  17.    1  Thess.  v.  12.     Acts  xx.  17,  18.     Heb.  xiii.  7, 
17,  24.    1  Cor.  xii.  28.    Matt,  xxviii.  18-20. 

EXPOSITION. 

To  suppose,  as  some  have  done,  that  the  government  of 
the  Church  is  ambulatory,  or  that  no  particular  form  has 
been  appointed  by  Christ,  but  that  he  has  left  it  to  be 
moulded  according  to  the  wisdom  or  caprice  of  men,  and 
varied  according  to  the  external  circumstances  of  the  Church, 
is  to  impeach  the  love  of  Christ  to  his  Church,  and  his  fidelity 
to  Him  who  hath  appointed  him  to  "  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob."  No  human  society  can  subsist  without  government; 
how  absurd,  then,  to  suppose  that  the  Church  of  Christ,  the 
most  perfect  of  all  societies,  has  been  left  by  her  king  desti- 
tute of  what  is  essential  to  the  very  being  of  society  !  Un- 
der the  Old  Testament  a  most  perfect  form  of  government  was 
prescribed  to  the  Church;  but  order  and  discipline  are  as 
necessary  to  the  Christian  as  they  were  to  the  Jewish  Church. 
And  can  it  be  reasonably  supposed,  that  while  the  govern- 
ment of  the  latter  was  minutely  prescribed,  that  of  the 
former  has  been  totally  neglected  ?  All  sects  of  Christians, 
indeed,  plead  the  authority  of  Scripture  for  that  form  of 
government  which  they  prefer;  and  thus  they  implicitly 
acknowledge  that  the  outlines,  at  least,  of  some  particular 
form  may  be  found  in  the  Scriptures. 

Even  the  advocates  of  the  divine  right  of  ecclesiastical 


SECT.  1.]  OF  CHURCH  CENSURES.  303 

government  differ  widely  respecting  the  precise  form  of  it 
which  has  been  appointed  by  Christ.  Papists,  conceiving  that 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  as  the  successor  of  Peter,  and  the  vice- 
gerent of  Christ,  is  the  visible  head  of  the  whole  Church,  main- 
tain that  in  him  the  supreme  government  of  the  universal 
Church  is  reposed,  and  that  from  him  all  other  bishops  de- 
rive their  authority.  Episcopalians,  holding  a  distinction  of 
rank  among  the  ministers  of  religion,  vest  the  government  of 
the  Church  in  bishops,  archbishops,  &c.  Independents,  con- 
ceiving that  every  congregation  forms  a  complete  Church, 
and  has  an  independent  power  of  jurisdiction  within  itself, 
lodge  the  government  of  the  Church  in  the  assembly  of  the 
faithful.  Presbyterians,  holding,  in  opposition  to  Episcopa- 
lians, that  all  the  ministers  of  the  Word  are  on  a  level,  in 
respect  of  office  and  authority;  and,  in  opposition  to  Inde- 
pendents, that  particular  congregations  are  only  parts  of  the 
one  Church,  maintain  that  the  government  of  the  Church  is 
committed,  under  Christ,  to  the  presbytery,  or  the  teaching 
and  ruling  elders;  and  that  there  is  a  subordination  of  courts, 
in  which  the  sentence  of  inferior  courts  may  be  reviewed, 
and  either  affirmed  or  reversed.  It  would  be  out  of  place 
here  to  examine  the  claims  of  these  different  systems.  That 
the  Presbyterial  form  is  "  founded  upon,  and  agreeable  to,  the 
Word  of  God,"  is,  in  our  judgment,  fully  established  in  "  the 
Form  of  Church  Government"  drawn  up  by  the  Westminster 
Assembly. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  advert  to  the  opinion  of  the  Eras- 
tians,  who  maintain  that  the  external  government  of  the 
Church  belongs  to  the  civil  magistrate.  This  opinion  is  di- 
rectly opposed  to  all  that  the  Scriptures  say  about  the 
spiritual  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  That  remarkable 
declaration  of  Christ,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world," 
plainly  shows  that  his  kingdom,  though  in  the  world,  is 
totally  and  specifically  distinct  from  all  others  in  it;  and 
when  he  forbade  the  exercise  of  such  dominion  over  his  sub- 
jects as  the  kings  of  the  Gentiles  exercised,  the  different 
nature  of  the  government  to  take  place  in  it  was  clearly 
pointed  out.  Among  the  various  office-bearers  which  Christ 
has  "  set  in  the  Church,"  the  civil  magistrate  is  never  men- 
tioned. And  were  it  true  that  it  belongs  to  the  civil  magis- 
trate to  model  the  government  of  the  Church,  Christ  must 
have  left  his  Church  more  than  three  hundred  years  without 
any  government;  for  it  was  not  till  the  fourth  century  that 
the  Church  received  any  countenance  from  the  civil  powers. 

"  The  formal  and  specific  difference  betwixt  the  Church 
and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and,  consequently,  between 


304  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH,  [CHAP.  XXX. 

civil  and  ecclesiastical  authority,  in  respect  of  origin,  ends, 
subjects,  laws,  privileges,  means,  extent,  &c,  has,  by  many 
writers,  been  very  particularly  explained.  No  doubt,  the 
Church  on  earth  hath  some  things  in  common  with  other  so- 
cieties, and  the  authority  in  both  may  often  have  the  same 
objects,  materially  considered;  they  admit  also  of  a  mutual 
respect,  and  reciprocal  acts  and  duties  towards  each  other; 
but  none  of  these  are  inconsistent  with  their  formal  distinc- 
tion, but  rather  suppose  it;  so  that  all  the  power  and  peculiar 
actings  of  each,  whatever  matters  they  respect,  must  ever  be 
of  the  same  nature  with  that  of  the  society  they  belong  to — 
in  the  one  wholly  spiritual,  and  in  the  other  always  and 
wholly  secular.  When  following  their  proper  line,  and 
keeping  within  their  proper  sphere,  they  can  never  jar  or 
impede  one  another  by  interference:  like  two  straight  and 
parallel  lines,  they  can  never  meet  or  be  confounded  together. 
Whatever  dangers  have  arisen,  or  may  arise,  from  abuse, 
none  can  arise  merely  from  the  distinct  and  independent 
nature  and  actings  of  these  societies;  so  that  there  can  be  no 
reason  for  subjecting  one  of  them  to  the  other.  The  com- 
mon plea  of  the  necessity  of  one  undivided  supreme  power  in 
all  states,  and  of  the  danger  of  an  *  imperium  in  itnperio,'  ap- 
plies only  to  societies  and  powers  of  the  same  nature  and 
order,  and  is  impertinently  urged  for  a  supremacy  of  temporal 
rulers  over  a  Church  of  Christ,  whose  authority  is  of  a 
different  kind."* 

Section  II To  these  officers  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 

of  heaven  are  committed;  by  virtue  whereof  they  have 
power  respectively  to  retain  and  remit  sins,  to  shut  that 
kingdom  against  the  impenitent,  both  by  the  Word  and 
censures;  and  to  open  it  unto  penitent  sinners,  by  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel  and  by  absolution  from  censures, 
as  occasion  shall  require.2 

Section  III. — Church  censures  are  necessary  for  the 
reclaiming  and  gaining  of  offending  brethren  :  for  de- 
terring of  others  from  the  like  offences ;  for  purging  out 
of  that  leaven  which  might  infect  the  whole  lump ;  for 
vindicating  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  the  holy  profession 
of  the  gospel ;  and  for  preventing  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  might  justly  fall  upon  the  Church,  if  they  should 

2  Matt.  xvi.  19;  xviii.  17,  18.    John  xx.  21-23.    2  Cor.  ii.  6-8. 
*  Bruce  on  the  Supremacy  of  Civil  Powers,  &c,  p.  23. 


SECT.  2-4.]  OF  CHURCH  CENSURES.  305 

suffer  his  covenant,  and  the  seals  thereof,  to  be  profaned 
by  notorious  and  obstinate  offenders.3 

Section  IV. — For  the  better  attaining  of  these  ends, 
the  officers  of  the  Church  are  to  proceed  by  admonition, 
suspension  i'rom  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  for 
a  season,  and  by  excommunication  from  the  Church, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  crime  and  demerit  of  the 
person.4 

3  1  Cor.  v.    1  Tim.  v.  20.      Matt.  vii.  I  *  1  Thess.  v.  12.    2  Thess.  iii.  6, 14, 15. 
9.     1  Tim.  i.  20.     1  Cor.  xi.  27.  1  Cor.  v.  4,  5,  13.  Matt,  xviii.  17. 

Jude  23.  Tit.  iii.  10. 

EXPOSITION. 
In  opposition  to  the  Erastians,  who  assign  the  power  of 
inflicting  the  censures  of  the  Church  to  the  civil  magistrate, 
our  Confession  here  affirms,  that  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  are  committed  to  the  officers  whom  Christ  has  ap- 
pointed in  his  Church.  "  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  said  Christ  to  Peter,  "  and  whatso- 
ever thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven." — Matt.  xvi.  19.  By  "the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  we  are  to  understand  the  power  and  authority  of 
exercising  government  and  discipline  in  the  Church;  in  virtue 
of  which,  those  intrusted  with  these  keys  have  power  to 
"bind  and  loose,"  by  inflicting  and  removing  censures;  and 
their  proceedings,  when  conducted  agreeably  to  Scripture, 
are  ratified  in  heaven.  Presbyterians  maintain  that  these 
keys  were  given  to  Peter,  as  an  apostle  and  elder;  and, 
therefore,  that  the  gift  extends  to  all  the  apostles,  and  after 
them,  to  all  ordinary  elders,  to  the  end  of  time.  The  same 
thing  that  is  expressed  in  the  above  passage  by  binding  and 
loosing,  is  elsewhere  expressed  by  remitting  and  retaining  sins. 
But  Christ  addressed  these  words  to  all  the  apostles :  "  Peace 
be  unto  you ;  as  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  so  send  I  you. 
Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them;  and 
whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained." — John  xx. 
21,  23.  It  is  true  that  this  power  is  ascribed  to  the  Church : 
"  Tell  it  unto  the  Church,"  &c.  (Matt,  xviii.  17);  but  by 
the  Church,  in  this  passage,  is  to  be  understood  the  rulers  or 
elders  of  the  Church;  and  this  text  further  confirms  the  doc- 
trine of  our  Confession,  that  the  power  of  discipline  is  com- 
mitted solely  to  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church.  The 
Church  and  the  State  may  take  up  the  same  cases,  but  under 
a  different  consideration;  it  is  only  when  viewed  as  crimes 
u 


306  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXXI. 

against  the  State  that  they  come  under  the  cognizance  of 
civil  rulers,  and  are  to  be  punished  with  civil  pains;  viewed 
as  scandals  against  religious  society,  they  come  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  rulers  of  the  Church,  and  can  only  be  re- 
moved by  ecclesiastical  censures. 

Church  censures  are  necessary  for  vindicating  the  honour 
of  Christ  and  his  religion — maintaining  the  purity  of  his 
worship — reclaiming  offenders — deterring  others  from  the 
like  offences — removing  contagion  from  the  Church — and 
preventing  the  wrath  of  God,  which  might  justly  fall  upon 
the  Church,  if  they  should  suffer  the  seals  of  his  covenant  to 
be  profaned  by  notorious  and  obstinate  offenders. 

The  censures  of  the  Church  are  spiritual  in  their  nature 
and  effects.  They  are  appointed  by  Christ  for  the  benefit 
of  offenders,  and  have  a  tendency,  as  means,  to  promote 
their  recovery,  and  not  their  destruction.  As  offences  differ 
in  degrees  of  guilt  and  circumstances  of  aggravation,  the 
Church  is  to  proceed  according  to  the  nature  and  degree  of 
the  offence  committed.  In  some  cases  a  simple  admonition 
will  suffice. — Tit.  iii.  10.  A  greater  degree  of  guilt  will  call 
for  a  rebuke,  solemnly  administered  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ. — Tit.  i.  13;  1  Tim.  v.  20.  Scandals  of  greater  mag- 
nitude will  require  the  suspension  of  the  offender  from  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  for  a  season. — 2  Thess.  iii.  14. 
This  is  called  the  lesser  excommunication;  and  the  highest  cen- 
sure which  the  Church  has  the  power  to  inflict  is  called  tlie 
greater  excommiuiioatkm. — Matt,  xviii.  17.  We  have  an  ex- 
ample in  the  case  of  the  incestuous  man,  who  was  delivered 
"unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit 
might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus." — 1  Cor.  v.  5. 
It  does  not,  according  to  the  Popish  notion,  consist  in  literally 
delivering  up  the  offender  to  the  devil,  but  in  casting  him 
out  of  the  Church  into  the  world,  which  is  described  in 
Scripture  as  Satan's  kingdom. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

OF  SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS 


Section  I. — For  the  better  government  and  further 
edification   of  the   Church,    there  ought   to   be   such 


SECT,  t.]  OF  SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS.  307 

assemblies   as  are   commonly  called  synods   or  coun- 
cils.1 

1  Acts  xv.  2,  4,  6. 


EXPOSITION. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  their 
act  approving  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  1647,  inserted  a 
caveat :  "  That  the  not  mentioning  in  this  Confession  the 
several  sorts  of  ecclesiastical  officers  and  assemblies,  shall 
be  no  prejudice  to  the  truth  of  Christ  in  these  particulars,  to 
be  expressed  fully  in  the  Directory  of  Government."  The 
views  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  also  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly,  on  this  subject,  are  therefore  to  be  more 
fully  ascertained  in  "The  Form  of  Presbyterial  Church 
Government,"  agreed  upon  by  that  Assembly,  and  usually 
bound  up  with  the  Confession  of  Faith.  In  that  document 
they  declare:  "It  is  lawful  and  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God, 
that  the  Church  be  governed  by  several  sorts  of  assemblies, 
which  are  congregational, classical, and  synodical;"  and  also: 
"  That  synodical  assemblies  may  lawfully  be  of  several  sorts, 
as  provincial,  national,  and  oecumenical;"  and  further,  that 
"It  is  lawful,  and  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God,  that  there 
be  a  subordination  of  congregational,  classical  provincial, 
and  national  assemblies,  for  the  government  of  the  Church." 
Here  we  have  a  distinct  specification  of  the  several  sorts  of 
ecclesiastical  assemblies,  and  also  an  explicit  statement  of 
the  due  subordination  of  the  judicatories  of  the  Church; 
which  we  are  now  accustomed  to  denominate  kirk-sessions, 
presbyteries,  provincial  synods,  and  General  Assemblies.  At 
present,  however,  we  have  only  to  notice  the  statement  in 
the  section  of  the  Confession  under  consideration.  In  oppo- 
sition to  the  Independents,  who  maintain  that  every  congre- 
gation has  an  independent  power  of  government  within 
itself,  and  deny  all  subordination  of  judicatories,  our  Confes- 
sion asserts  that,  "for  the  better  government  and  further 
edification  of  the  Church  "  (that  is,  for  attaining  the  end  better 
than  can  be  accomplished  in  smaller  meetings  of  Church 
officers),  "  there  ought  to  be  such  assemblies  as  are  com- 
monly called  synods  or  councils."  Of  this  we  have  an  ex- 
ample in  the  synod  which  met  at  Jerusalem  to  settle  the 
question  about  circumcision.  "The  question,  whether  or 
not  the  Gentiles  who  had  made  a  profession  of  the  Christian 
religion  were  bound  to  submit  to  circumcision,  was  of  com- 
mon concern,  and  could  only  be  settled  by  the  judgment  and 
decision  of  office-bearers  delegated  from  the  Church  as  a 


308  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  £cHAP.  XXXI. 

whole ;  and  we  find  that  the  judgment  or  decision  of  these 
office-bearers,  when  met  judicially  to  consider  the  question, 
was  considered  as  binding  upon  the  whole  Church.  Nor  is 
it  any  valid  objection  to  this  court  forming  a  model  for  the 
imitation  of  the  Church  in  after  ages,  that  it  was  composed 
partly  of  apostles;  for  the  apostles  were  also  elders,  as  every 
higher  office  in  the  Church  includes  the  official  power  be- 
longing to  inferior  offices;  and  we  do  not  find  that,  in  the 
whole  discussion,  the  apostles,  as  judges,  claimed  any  supe- 
riority over  their  brethren,  who  are  called  elders.  At  any 
rate,  the  decision  was  promulgated  as  the  joint  decision  of 
both—Acts  xv.  21-31."* 

Section  II. — As  magistrates  may  lawfully  call  a 
synod  of  ministers,  and  other  fit  persons,  to  consult  and 
advise  with  about  matters  of  religion; 2  so  if  magistrates 
be  open  enemies  to  the  Church,  the  ministers  of  Christ 
of  themselves,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  or  they,  with 
other  fit  persons  upon  delegation  from  their  Churches, 
may  meet  together  in  such  assemblies.3 

2  Isa.  xlix.  23.     1  Tim.  ii.  I,  2.    2  Chron.  xix.  8-11;  xxix.,  xxx.     Matt.  ii. 
4,  5.    Prov.  xi.  14.  3  Acts  xv.  2,  4,  22,  23,  25. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  the  act  by 
which  they  adopted  the  Confession,  make  a  special  reference 
to  this  section,  and  expressly  declare  that  they  understood 
it  "  only  of  kirks  not  settled  or  constituted  in  point  of  go- 
vernment;" and  while  they  admit  that  "in  such  kirks  a 
synod  of  ministers,  and  other  fit  persons,  may  be  called  by 
the  magistrates'  authority  and  nomination,  without  any  other 
call,  to  consult  and  advise  with  about  matters  of  religion," 
they  assert  that  this  "  ought  not  to  be  done  in  kirks  con- 
stituted and  settled,"  and  that  it  is  always  free  to  the  minis- 
ters and  ruling  elders  "  to  assemble  together  synodically,  as 
well  pro  re  nata  as  at  the  ordinary  times,  upon  delegation 
from  the  Churches,  by  the  intrinsical  power  received  from 
Christ,  as  often  as  it  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  Church 
so  to  assemble,  in  case  the  magistrate,  to  the  detriment  of 
the  Church,  withhold  or  deny  his  consent."  Our  Reformers, 
it  is  well  known,  were  ever  jealous  of  the  least  encroach- 
ment upon  the  independence  of  the  Church.  Her  intrinsic 
power  to  convene  her  own  Assemblies  occupied  a  prominent 
place  in  all  their  contendings  with  the  Crown.  Their  maxim 
»  Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  pp.  347,  348. 


SECT.  3.~]  OF  SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS.  309 

was :  "  Take  from  us  the  freedom  of  Assemblies,  and  take 
from  us  the  Evangel."  At  the  period  of  the  first  Reforma- 
tion this  power  was  both  claimed  and  exercised.  The 
Church  held  her  first  Assembly,  in  1560,  solely  in  virtue  of 
her  own  proper  authority,  under  Christ  her  head;  and  for 
at  least  twenty  years — during  which  time  there  were  no  fewer 
than  thirty-nine  or  forty  Assemblies — the  sovereign  was  not 
present,  either  in  person  or  by  a  representative,  as  afterwards 
became  the  custom.  At  the  era  of  the  second  Reformation,  the 
intrinsic  power  of  the  Church  was  nobly  vindicated  by  the 
famous  Assembly  held  in  Glasgow  in  1 638.  Although  the  king's 
commissioner  dissolved  the  Assembly  in  his  master's  name, 
and  discharged  their  further  proceedings,  under  the  highest 
penalties,  yet  the  Assembly,  claiming  an  intrinsical  power 
from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  continued  their  sessions  and  pro- 
ceeded with  the  important  business  for  which  they  had  met. 
It  must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  in  the  Act  of  1592 
— which  has  been  considered  as  the  Magna  Charta  of  the 
Established  Church,  and  which  the  Act  of  1690  revived  and 
confirmed — the  right  of  the  Church  to  appoint  her  own  As- 
semblies was  not  sufficiently  secured.  This  right  is  conceded 
only  when  neither  the  king  nor  his  commissioner  is  present. 
Accordingly,  immediately  after  the  Revolution,  the  Assem- 
blies of  the  Church  were  often  abruptly  dissolved,  and  re- 
peatedly adjourned,  by  the  royal  authority. 

"  This  point  (the  power  of  freely  meeting  and  dissolving  by 
the  Church's  own  authority),  that  so  often  was  contested  be- 
tween the  Crown  and  the  Presbyterian  courts  in  Scotland,  is 
of  far  greater  importance  to  ecclesiastical  independence  and 
liberty  than  at  first  it  may  appear  to  be.  Without  this 
being  retained  and  secured,  a  little  reflection  may  show  that 
the  exercise  of  any  other  powers  they  may  claim,  may  be 
rendered,  by  the  will  of  a  superior,  not  only  precarious,  but 
altogether  nugatory  and  void.  It  is  well  known  that  this 
arbitrary  exercise  of  prerogative,  in  calling  and  dissolving 
Parliaments,  had  rendered  them  powerless,  and  they  were  in 
danger  by  it  of  being  utterly  abolished ;  nor  did  the  nation 
reckon  their  civil  liberties  at  all  secure,  till  annual  or  regular 
meetings  of  Parliament  were  secured  by  law.  The  danger 
would  be  equal  and  the  effect  similar,  if  ecclesiastical  assem- 
blies were  made,  in  this  respect,  wholly  dependent  on  the 
Crown;  of  which  the  history  of  the  English  Convocation 
affords  a  striking  evidence."  * 

Section  III. — It  belongeth  to  synods  and  councils 

*  Bruce  on  the  Supremacy  of  Civil  Powers,  &c,  p.  103. 


310  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXXI. 

ministerially  to  determine  controversies  of  faith  and 
cases  of  conscience;  to  set  down  rules  and  directions  for 
the  better  ordering  of  the  public  worship  of  God  and 
government  of  his  Church ;  to  receive  complaints  in 
cases  of  mal-administration,  and  authoritatively  to  deter- 
mine the  same :  which  decrees  and  determinations,  if 
consonant  to  the  Word  of  God,  are  to  be  received  Avith 
reverence  and  submission,  not  only  for  their  agreement 
with  the  AVord,  but  also  for  the  power  whereby  they  are 
made,  as  being  an  ordinance  of  God,  appointed  there- 
unto in  his  Word.4 

*  Acts  xv.  15, 19,  24,  27-31;  xvi.  4.    Matt,  xviii.  17-20. 

EXPOSITION. 
This  section  is  evidently  intended  as  a  decision  upon 
another  important  principle  in  the  controversy  with  Inde- 
pendents, who,  while  they  admitted  that  congregations  might, 
in  difficult  cases,  consult  with  advantage  synods  of  ministers, 
denied  to  these  synods  any  authority  over  the  congregations. 
Presbyterians  readily  grant  that  the  power  of  Church  rulers 
is  purely  ministerial.  Christ  is  the  alone  Lord  and  Law- 
giver in  his  Church ;  so  that  their  business  is  only  to  apply 
and  enforce  the  laws  which  he  has  enacted.  Their  delibera- 
tions, however,  are  to  be  considered,  not  as  merely  consulta- 
tive, but  authoritative;  and,  so  far  as  their  decisions  accord 
with  the  laws  of  Christ,  laid  down  in  his  Word,  being  formed 
in  his  name,  and  by  authority  conferred  by  him,  they  must 
be  binding  upon  the  conscience.  The  Synod  of  Jerusalem 
did  not  merely  give  a  counsel  or  advice,  but  pronounced  an 
authoritative  decision  upon  the  case  referred  to  them.  They 
"  ordained  decrees,"  "  laid  a  burden"  upon  the  Churches, 
and  enjoined  them  to  observe  certain  "  necessary  things;" 
and  their  decision  was  cheerfully  submitted  to  by  the 
Churches  concerned. — Acts  xv.  28,  xvi.  4. 

Section  IV. — All  synods  or  councils  since  the  apostles' 
times,  whether  general  or  particular,  may  err,  and  many 
have  erred  ;  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  made  the  rule 
of  faith  or  practice,  but  to  be  used  as  an  help  in  both.5 

s  Eph.  ii.  20.     Actsxvii.  11.     1  Cor.  ii.  5.    2  Cor.  i.  24. 

EXPOSITION. 
Although  Papists  maintain  that  infallibility  is  lodged  some- 
where in  the  Church,  they  are  not  agreed  among  themselves 


SECT.  5.]  OF  SYNODS  AND  COUNCILS.  311 

whether  it  resides  in  the  Pope,  or  in  a  general  council,  or  in 
both  united.  It  is  here  affirmed  that  all  councils  may  err. 
Councils  being  composed  of  men,  every  one  of  whom  is  fal- 
lible, they  must  also  be  liable  to  error  when  collected  to- 
gether. It  is  also  asserted  that  many  of  them  have  erred; 
and  this  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  fact,  that  different 
general  councils  have  made  decrees  directly  opposite  to  each 
other.  In  the  Arian  controversy,  several  councils  decreed, 
in  opposition  to  that  of  Nice.  The  Eutychian  heresy  was 
approved  in  the  second  Council  of  Ephesus,  and  soon  after 
condemned  in  the  Council  of  Chalcedon.  The  worship  of 
images  was  condemned  in  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  and 
was  approved  in  the  second  Nicene  Council,  and  again  con- 
demned at  Francfort.  Finally,  the  authority  of  councils  was 
declared,  at  Constance  and  Basil,  to  be  superior  to  that  of  the 
Pope;  but  this  decision  was  reversed  in  the  Lateran.* 

Section  V. — Synods  and  councils  are  to  handle  or 
conclude  nothing  but  that  which  is  ecclesiastical ;  and 
are  not  to  intermeddle  with  civil  affairs,  which  concern 
the  commonwealth,  unless  by  way  of  humble  petition,  in 
cases  extraordinary,  or  by  way  of  advice  for  satisfac- 
tion of  conscience,  if  they  be  thereunto  required  by  the 
civil  magistrate.6 

8  Luke  xii.  13,  14.    John  xviii.  36. 
EXPOSITION. 

"While  our  Confession  denounces  any  Erastian  interference 
of  the  civil  magistrate  in  matters  purely  spiritual  and  eccle- 
siastical, it  no  less  explicitly  disavows  all  Popish  claims,  on 
the  part  of  the  synods  and  councils  of  the  Church,  to  inter- 
meddle with  civil  affairs,  unless  by  way  of  petition,  in  extra- 
ordinary cases,  or  by  way  of  advice,  when  required  by  the 
civil  magistrate.  Our  Reformers  appear  to  have  clearly  per- 
ceived the  proper  limits  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction, and  to  have  been  very  careful  that  they  should  be 
strictly  observed.  "  The  power  and  policy  ecclesiastical," 
say  they,  "  is  different  and  distinct  in  its  own  nature  from 
that  power  and  policy  which  is  called  civil  power,  and  apper- 
tained to  the  civil  government  of  the  commonwealth ;  albeit 
they  be  both  of  God,  and  tend  to  one  end,  if  they  be  rightly 
used,  viz.,  to  advance  the  glory  of  God,  and  to  have  godly 
and  good  subjects."  "  Diligence  should  be  taken,  chiefly  by 
*  Burnet  on  the  Thirty- Nine  Articles,  Art.  21. 


312  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXXII. 

the  moderator,  that  only  ecclesiastical  things  be  handled  in 
the  Assemblies,  and  that  there  be  no  meddling  with  anything 
pertaining  to  the  civil  jurisdiction."*  Church  and  State  may 
co-operate  in  the  advancement  of  objects  common  to  both; 
but  each  of  them  must  be  careful  to  act  within  its  own  pro- 
per sphere — the  one  never  intermeddling  with  the  affairs 
which  properly  belong  to  the  province  of  the  other. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

OF  THE  STATE  OF  MEN  AFTER  DEATH,  AND  OF  THE  RESUR- 
RECTION OF  THE  DEAD. 

Section  I. — The  bodies  of  men  after  death  return  to 
dust,  and  see  corruption;1  but  their  souls  (which neither 
die  nor  sleep)  having  an  immortal  subsistence,  imme- 
diately return  to  God  who  gave  them.2  The  souls  of  the 
righteous,  being  then  made  perfect  in  holiness,  are  re- 
ceived into  the  highest  heavens,  where  they  behold  the 
face  of  God  in  light  and  glory,  waiting  for  the  full  re- 
demption of  their  bodies  ; 3  and  the  souls  of  the  wicked 
are  cast  into  hell,  where  they  remain  in  torments  and 
utter  darkness,  reserved  to  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day.4  Besides  these  two  places  for  souls  separated  from 
their  bodies,  the  Scripture  acknowledgeth  none. 

»  Gen.  iii.  19.     Acts  xiii.  36.  |  3  Heb.  xii.  23.    2  Cor.  v.  1,  6, 8.  Phil. 

2  Luke  xxiii.  43.    Eccl.  xii.  7.  i.  23.    Acts  iii.  21.     Eph.  iv.  10. 

*  Luke  xvi.  23,  24.     Acts  i.  25.    Jude  6,  7.     1  Pet.  iii.  19. 

EXPOSITION. 

I.  It  is  here  supposed  that  death  is  an  event  common  to 
all  men.  "  It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die." — Heb.  ix. 
27.  This  is  the  immutable  appointment  of  Heaven,  which 
cannot  be  reVersed,  and  which  none  can  frustrate.  When 
meditating  upon  this  subject,  the  royal  Psalmist  exclaimed: 
"  What  man  is  he  that  liveth,  and  shall  not  see  death  ?  shall 
he  deliver  his  soul  from  the  hand  of  the  grave  ?" — Ps.  lxxxix. 
*  Second  Book  of  Discipline,  chap.  i.  and  vii. 


SECT.  1.]     OF  THE  STATE  OF  MEN  AFTER  DEATH.  313 

48.  Job  speaks  of  death  as  an  event  which  certainly  awaited 
him,  and  of  the  grave  as  the  common  receptacle  of  all  man- 
kind: "  I  know  that  thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  and  to  the 
house  appointed  for  all  living." — Job  xxx.  23.  Our  own 
observation  abundantly  confirms  the  declaration  of  Scripture. 
Nor  are  we  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  introduction  of  death 
into  our  world,  and  its  universal  prevalence  over  the  human 
race :  "  As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin;  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sin- 
ned."—Rom.  v.  12. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  vast  difference  between  the  death  of  the 
righteous  and  that  of  the  wicked.  To  the  latter,  death  is  the 
effect  of  the  law-curse,  and  the  harbinger  of  everlasting  de- 
struction; but  to  the  foiyner,  death  is  not  the  proper  punish- 
ment of  sin,  but  the  termination  of  all  sin  and  sorrow,  and  an 
entrance  into  life  eternal.  To  them  death  is  divested  of  its 
sting,  and  rendered  powerless  to  do  them  any  real  injury. 
Not  only  is  it  disarmed  of  its  power  to  hurt  them — it  is  com- 
pelled to  perform  a  friendly  part  to  them.  It  is  their  release 
from  warfare — their  deliverance  from  woe — their  departure  to 
be  with  Christ.  But  although  death  is  no  real  loss,  but  rather 
great  gain  to  the  righteous;  yet,  as  it  consists  in  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  union  between  the  soul  and  the  body,  it  is  an  event 
from  which  they  are  not  exempted. 

God  could,  no  doubt,  if  he  pleased,  easily  save  his  saints 
from  natural  death.  Of  this  he  gave  a  proof  in  the  case  of 
Enoch  and  of  Elijah.  For  good  reasons,  however,  he  has 
determined  otherwise.  1.  That  the  righteous,  as  well  as 
others,  should  be  subjected  to  temporal  death,  is  best  adapted 
to  the  present  plan  of  the  divine  government,  and  seems 
necessary,  if  not  to  the  preservation,  at  least  to  the  comfort 
of  human  society.  According  to  the  plan  of  the  divine 
government,  rewards  and  punishments  are  principally  re- 
served for  a  future  world.  But  if  the  righteous  were 
exempted  from  death,  while  the  wicked  fell  under  its  stroke, 
this  would  be  a  manifestation  of  the  final  destiny  of  every 
man  that  is  removed  out  of  this  world.  Death,  therefore, 
happens  to  the  righteous  in  the  same  outward  form,  and 
attended  with  the  same  external  circumstances,  as  it  hap- 
pens to  the  wicked,  that  there  may  be  no  visible  distinction 
between  them.  2.  Were  the  righteous  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  wicked  by  being  translated  to  heaven  without  tast- 
ing of  death,  this  would  introduce  great  confusion  into  society. 
Without  producing  any  salutary  effect  upon  the  wicked,  it 
would  render  them  more  regardless  of  character,  and  remove 
one  powerful  stimulus — the  prospect  of  future  fame — which 


314  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXXII. 

animates  them  to  noble  exertions  for  the  benefit  of  society. 
It  would  also  greatly  affect  the  character  and  the  happiness 
of  the  living.  Were  the  parent  singled  out  as  the  object  of 
the  divine  displeasure,  by  being  subjected  to  death,  this  would 
fix  a  brand  of  infamy  upon  his  children;  or  if  the  child  were 
taken  away  in  a  manner  so  expressive  of  its  future  destiny, 
this  would  pierce  the  heart  of  the  parent,  especially  if  serious, 
with  inexpressible  anguish.  No  class,  indeed,  would  be  more 
affected  by  such  a  state  of  things  than  the  righteous  them- 
selves. Hence  death  is  the  common  lot  of  the  godly  and  of  the 
wicked.  3.  This  arrangement  affords  occasion  for  a  richer  dis- 
play of  the  power  and  grace  of  God.  As  the  hour  of  death  is 
the  most  trying  to  men,  so  the  power  and  grace  of  God  are  most 
gloriously  displayed,  in  supporting  his  people  in  that  solemn 
hour;  in  enabling  them,  in  the  exercise  of  faith  and  hope,  to 
rise  superior  to  the  fear  of  death,  and  to  triumph  over  this 
last  enemy  as  conquerors.  And  how  illustriously  will  his 
power  be  displayed  in  raising  up  their  bodies  at  the  last  day  ! 
4.  Another  reason,  we  conceive,  why  the  righteous  are  sub- 
jected to  temporal  death,  is,  that  they  may  be  conformed  to 
Christ,  their  glorious  head.  He  tasted  of  death  before  he 
was  crowned  with  glory  and  honour ;  and  they  also  must 
enter  into  glory  through  "  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death." 

II.  The  bodies  of  men  after  death  return  to  the  dust,  and 
see  corruption.  So  humiliating  and  deeply  affecting  is  the 
change  which  death  produces  on  the  human  body,  that  it 
becomes  obnoxious  to  the  view,  and  necessity  compels  the 
living  to  remove  it  from  their  sight.  It  is  committed  to  the 
grave,  in  which  it  putrefies ;  and  after  a  certain  time  isreduced 
to  dust,  so  that  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  vegetable 
mould  with  which  it  is  mingled.  These  things,  however,  are 
offensive  only  to  the  living;  they  occasion  no  uneasiness  to 
the  dead.  To  the  wicked,  indeed,  the  grave  is  a  prison, 
where  they  are  kept  in  close  confinement  until  the  resurrec- 
tion; but  to  believers  it  is  a  place  of  rest,  where,  exempted 
from  all  pain  and  weariness,  they  shall  enjoy  profound  repose 
till  the  resurrection  morn,  when,  awakened  as  from  a  long 
refreshing  sleep,  they  shall  rise,  with  renovated  life  and 
vigour,  to  enjoy  everlasting  felicity. 

III.  The  souls  of  men  survive  the  dissolution  of  their  bodies, 
and  have  an  immortal  subsistence.  Some  have  held  that 
death  is  the  utter  extinction  of  man's  being;  others,  that  the 
soul  shall  sleep  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  alike 
inactive  and  unconscious  as  the  body  that  is  then  dissolved 
into  dust.  In  opposition  to  these  notions,  equally  absurd 
and  uncomfortable,  our  Confession  affirms,  and  the  Scripture 


SECT.    1.]    OF  THE  STATE  OF  MEN  AFTER  DEATH.  315 

clearly  teaches,  that  the  souls  of  men  subsist  in  a  disembodied 
state,  after  such  a  manner  as  to  be  capable  of  exercising  those 
powers  and  faculties  which  are  essential  to  them.  "  Fear  not 
them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul." — 
Matt.  x.  28.  These  are  the  words  of  Him  who  made  man,  and 
who  perfectly  knows  the  constituent  parts  of  his  nature;  and 
lie  affirms,  not  only  that  the  soul  is  distinct  from  the  body — 
not  only  that  it  does  not,  in  fact,  die  with  the  body,  but  that 
it  is  impossible  to  kill  the  soul  by  any  created  power.  Our 
Saviour  taught  the  same  doctrine  in  parabolical  language : 
"  It  came  to  pass  that  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by 
the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom.  The  rich  man  also  died, 
and  was  buried ;  and  in  hell  he  lift  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ments."— Luke  xvi.  22, 23.  Both  the  beggar  and  the  man  of 
wealth  died;  both  left  their  bodies  in  the  dust;  but  the  souls 
of  both  retained  their  existence  and  their  consciousness  after 
their  separation  from  their  bodies.  No  doubt  the  death  of 
the  righteous  is  frequently  described  in  Scripture  as  a  sleep ; 
but  such  language  is  obviously  figurative,  and  gives  no  coun- 
tenance to  the  notion  that  the  soul  falls  asleep  when  disunited 
from  the  body.  When  the  dead  are  said  to  be  asleep,  a 
metaphor  is  used,  founded  upon  the  striking  resemblance 
between  death  and  sleep;  and,  at  the  sametime,  by  another 
figure  of  speech,  a  part  is  spoken  of  as  the  whole.  They  are 
said  to  sleep,  and  to  be  unconscious  and  inactive,  because 
these  things  are  true  of  their  bodies. 

IV.  The  souls  of  the  righteous,  immediately  after  death, 
are  admitted  into  the  happiness  of  the  heavenly  state.  Some, 
who  allow  that  the  souls  of  believers  possess  consciousness, 
and  experience  happiness  in  their  disembodied  state,  conceive 
that  at  death  their  souls  pass  into  an  intermediate  state,  and 
that  they  will  enter  into  heaven  only  when  the  final  judgment 
takes  place.  The  Church  of  Rome  maintains  that  the  souls 
of  the  saints,  on  leaving  their  bodies,  must  pass  for  a  time 
into  a  place  called  purgatory,  that  they  may  be  purified  by 
fire  from  the  stains  of  sin,  which  had  not  been  washed  out 
during  the  present  life.  That  Church  further  teaches,  that 
the  pains  and  sufferings  of  purgatory  may  be  alleviated  and 
shortened  by  the  prayers  of  men  here  on  earth;  by  the  inter- 
cession of  the  saints  in  heaven;  and,  above  all,  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  mass,  offered  by  the  priests  in  the  name  of  sinners ; 
and  that,  as  soon  as  souls  are  released  from  purgatory,  they 
are  immediately  admitted  to  eternal  happiness.  Of  this  doc- 
trine there  is  no  trace  in  the  Bible;  it  is  a  cunningly  devised 
fable,  invented  by  designing  men  to  impose  upon  the  credu- 
lous, and  to  fill  their  own  treasures.     The  Scripture  speaks 


316  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  QcHAP.  XXXII. 

only  of  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  into  one  of  which  all  departed  souls 
have  entered;  and,  accordingly,  our  Confession  affirms:  "Be- 
sides these  two  places  for  souls  separated  from  their  bodies, 
the  Scripture  acknowledged  none." 

The  immediate  admission  of  the  souls  of  the  righteous  into 
heaven  is  confirmed  by  numerous  passages  of  Scripture.  Our 
Lord's  promise  to  the  penitent  thief:  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be 
with  me  in  paradise"  (Luke  xxiii.  43),  implies  that,  ere  that 
day  was  finished,  his  soul  should  be  in  the  same  place  with 
the  soul  of  Christ,  and  should  enjoy  all  the  felicity  which  the 
word  •  paradise"  suggests.  When  Stephen,  with  his  ex- 
piring breath,  called  upon  God,  saying,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit "  (Acts  vii.  59),  he  manifestly  expected  that  his 
soul  should  immediately  pass  into  the  presence  of  his  Saviour. 
The  same  thing  is  implied  in  the  language  of  Paul:  "  For  me 
to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt 
two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which 
is  far  better." — Phil.  i.  21,  23.  Certainly  if  he  had  not  ex- 
pected to  be  admitted  into  the  presence  of  Christ  until  the 
resurrection,  he  would  not  have  judged  it  gain  to  die ;  and, 
instead  of  desiring,  he  would  have  been  loath  to  depart;  for 
while  he  was  in  the  body  he  was  honourably  engaged  in  the 
service  of  Christ,  and  enjoyed  delightful  communion  with 
him.  But  the  apostle  tells  us  that  the  reason  of  his  desire 
to  depart  was,  that  he  might  be  with  Christ — in  a  state  of 
blessedness  far  superior  to  anything  found  in  this  present 
world.  The  same  apostle  says  :  "  We  are  confident,  I  say, 
and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be 
present  with  the  Lord.'' — 2  Cor.  v.  8.  No  words  could  ex- 
press in  a  clearer  manner  the  immediate  transition  of  the 
soul  from  its  present  habitation  into  the  presence  of  Christ. 
The  believer's  absence  from  the  body  and  his  presence  with 
Christ  are  closely  connected;  the  latter  succeeds  the  former 
without  any  interval.  Accordingly,  the  Apostle  John  heard 
a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  to  him:  "  Write,  Blessed  are  the 
dead  which  die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth''''  (Rev.  xiv.  13); 
that  is,  they  are  blessed  from  the  time  of  their  death. 

If  the  souls  of  believers  are  admitted  into  heaven  imme- 
diately after  death,  it  is  evident  that  a  wonderful  change 
must  then  take  place  upon  them,  in  order  to  qualify  them 
for  the  new  state  into  which  they  are  introduced.  Unless 
they  were  completely  freed  from  every  stain  of  impurity, 
they  would  be  unfit  for  the  society  of  the  heavenly  world, 
and  incapable  of  enjoying  the  felicities  of  that  world.  Our 
Confession  accordingly  asserts,  that  their  souls  are  then 
"  made  perfect  in  holiness ;"  and  in  Scripture  the  souls  of 


SECT.  2,  3.]    OF  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  DEAD.        31? 

departed  saints  are  called  "the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect." — Heb.  xii.  23. 

V.  The  souls  of  the  wicked  are  at  death  cast  into  hell. 
While  some  have  maintained  that  the  souls  of  the  wicked 
shall  never  be  tormented  in  hell,  others  have  held  that  they 
shall  not  be  adjudged  to  that  place  of  torment  till  after  the 
resurrection;  but,  according  to  the  representation  of  our 
Saviour,  as  soon  as  the  rich  man  died, "  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his 
eyes,  being  in  torments." — Luke  xvi.  23.  The  spirits  of  those 
who  in  the  time  of  Noah  were  disobedient,  were,  when  the 
Apostle  Peter  wrote  his  epistle,  shut  up  in  the  prison  of 
hell.— 1  Pet.  iii.  19. 

Section  II. — At  the  last  day,  such  as  are  found  alive 
shall  not  die,  but  be  changed  :5  and  all  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  up  with  the  selfsame  bodies,  and  none  other, 
although  with  different  qualities,  which  shall  be  united 
again  to  their  souls  for  ever.6 

Section  III. — The  bodies  of  the  unjust  shall,  by  the 
power  of  Christ,  be  raised  to  dishonour;  the  bodies  of 
the  just,  by  his  Spirit,  unto  honour,  and  be  made  con- 
formable to  his  own  glorious  body.7 

6  1  Thess.  iv.  17.     1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52.    I7  Acts  xxiv.   15.        John  v.   28,   29. 
6  Job  xix.  26,  27.     1  Cor.  xv.  42-44.      |  1  Cor.  xv.  43.    Phil.  iii.  21. 

EXPOSITION. 

I.  Such  as  remain  alive  upon  the  earth  at  the  last  day  shall 
not  die,  but  undergo  a  wonderful  change.  This  truth  was  first 
revealed  to  the  Church  in  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinth- 
ians (xv.  51):  "  Behold  I  show  you  a  mystery;  we  shall  not 
all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed."  When  Christ  shall 
descend  from  heaven  to  judge  the  world,  some  will  be  found 
alive  upon  the  earth ;  these  shall  not  die,  and  sleep  for  a 
short  time  in  the  dust  of  the  earth ;  but  they  will  experience 
a  change  equivalent  to  that  which  shall  pass  on  those  who 
shall  then  be  raised  from  the  grave;  and,  as  we  are  informed, 
the  dead  saints  will  be  raised  before  the  living  are  changed. 
"  The  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first :  then  we  which  are  alive 
and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air :  and  so  shall  we  ever  be 
with  the  Lord."— 1  Thess.  iv.  16,  17. 

II.  There  shall  be  a  general  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
This  is  a  doctrine  which  unassisted  reason  could  not  dis- 
cover.    The  wisest  of  the  heathen  philosophers  derided  it. 


318  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.  [CHAP.  XXXII. 

When  Paul  preached  at  Athens,  which  was  called  the  Eye  of 
Greece,  the  Epicurean  and  Stoic  philosophers  mocked  when 
he  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  But  it  cannot  be 
reckoned  an  incredible  thing  that  God  should  raise  the  dead, 
If  he  be  omnipotent  and  omniscient,  as  he  certainly  is,  other- 
wise he  would  cease  to  be  God,  this  cannot  be  considered 
impossible.  He  who  formed  the  human  body  out  of  dust, 
and  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of  life,  must  be  able  to  raise 
and  animate  it  again  after  it  has  been  reduced  to  dust.  To 
the  power  of  God  our  Saviour  referred,  as  an  answer  to  all 
the  cavils  which  might  be  brought  forward  against  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection.  To  the  Sadducees,  a  sect  of  the 
Jews  who  denied  this  doctrine,  he  said :  "  Ye  do  err,  not 
knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God." — Matt.  xxii. 
29.  But  it  is  only  by  the  revelation  of  the  will  of  God  that 
we  are  infallibly  assured  of  the  certainty  of  the  resurrection. 
It  was  revealed  in  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament.  Job 
expressed  the  strongest  confidence  of  the  resurrection  of  his 
body. — Job  xix.  25.  The  prediction  of  the  Prophet  Daniel 
is  equally  explicit. — Dan.  xii.  2.  This  doctrine  held  a  pro- 
minent place  in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles. 
Nothing  could  be  more  explicit  than  our  Lord's  declaration  : 
"  The  hour  is  coming  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth,"  &c. — John  v. 
28,  29.  After  our  Lord's  ascension,  this  was  the  grand  theme 
of  the  testimony  of  his  apostles,  as  upon  it  the  truth  of  the 
whole  system  of  Christianity  rested.  Hence  Paul  thus  argued 
with  the  Corinthians :  "  Now,  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he 
rose  from  the  dead,  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead  ?  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen.  And  if  Christ  be  not 
risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 
vain." — 1  Cor.  xv.  12-14.  The  resurrection  of  the  saints  is 
firmly  established  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ  himself. 
In  the  chapter  to  which  we  have  now  referred,  the  apostle 
shows  the  infallible  evidence  which  he  and  his  brethren  had 
for  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  then  argues  that  the 
resurrection  of  believers  necessarily  follows  from  the  admis- 
sion that  Christ  their  head  is  risen.  The  grave  cannot 
always  retain  what  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the  living 
Redeemer.  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become 
the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept." — 1  Cor.  xv.  20.  See  also 
1  Thess.  iv.  14;  Rom.  viii.  11. 

III.  The  dead  shall  be  raised  with  the  selfsame  bodies, 
although  with  very  different  qualities.  The  very  term  resur- 
rection implies  that  the  same  bodies  shall  be  raised  that  fell 


SECT.  2,  3.]   OP  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  DEAD.         319 

by  death ;  for  if  God  should  form  new  bodies,  and  unite  them 
to  departed  souls,  it  would  not  be  a  resurrection,  but  a  new 
creation.  Our  Saviour  declares:  "  All  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  come  forth;"  this  certainly  implies  that  the  same  bodies 
which  were  committed  to  the  graves  shall  be  raised;  for,  if 
new  bodies  were  to  be  produced,  and  united  to  their  souls, 
they  could  not,  with  truth,  be  said  to  come  out  of  their  graves. 
The  Apostle  Paul  affirms,  that  the  same  body  shall  be  raised 
which  is  sown  in  corruption,  and  declares:  "  This  corruptible 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  im- 
mortality;" pointing,  as  it  were,  to  that  corruptible  and  mor- 
tal body  which  he  then  carried  about.  But,  though  the  bodies 
of  the  saints  will  be  the  same  in  all  essentials  as  to  substance, 
they  will  be  vastly  changed  as  to  qualities.  "  Flesh  and  blood," 
in  their  present  state  of  grossness  and  frailty,  "  cannot  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God,  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incor- 
ruption." The  resurrection-body,  therefore,  shall  be  wonder- 
fully changed,  in  respect  to  qualities,  that  it  may  be  fitted  for 
the  employments  and  felicities  of  the  heavenly  state.  "  It  is 
sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption;  it  is  sown  in 
dishonour,  it  is  raised  in  glory:  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is 
raised  in  power;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a 
spiritual  body." — 1  Cor.  xv.  42-44.  With  regard  to  the  wicked, 
the  Scriptures  give  us  no  specific  information  with  respect  to 
the  state  and  qualities  of  their  bodies.  All  that  we  learn  is, 
that  they  shall  rise  "to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt;" 
from  which  it  is  evident  that  they  shall  be  raised  to  dis- 
honour. 

How  solicitous  should  we  be  to  obtain  the  resurrection  of 
the  just !  This  was  Paul's  great  desire,  and  the  object  of  his 
earnest  pursuit. — Phil.  iii.  11.  If  we  would  attain  to  a  blessed 
resurrection,  let  it  be  our  concern  to  be  "  found  in  Christ.'' 
United  to  him  by  the  inhabitation  of  his  Spirit  and  by  a  living 
faith,  we  need  not  be  slavishly  afraid  of  death  or  of  the  grave ; 
for  Christ  is  "  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth  in  him,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ;  and 
whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  him  shall  never  die." 


320  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.       [CHAP.  XXXIII.* 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

OF    THE   LAST    JUDGMENT. 

Section  I. — God  hath  appointed  a  day  wherein  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  Jesus  Christ,1 
to  whom  all  power  and  judgment  is  given  of  the  Father.2 
In  which  day,  not  only  the  apostate  angels  shall  be 
judged,3  but  likewise  all  persons  that  have  lived  upon 
earth  shall  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ,  to  give 
an  account  of  their  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  and  to 
receive  according  to  what  they  have  done  in  the  body, 
whether  good  or  evil.4 

Section  II — The  end  of  God's  appointing  this  day 
is  for  the  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  his  mercy  in  the 
eternal  salvation  of  the  elect,  and  of  his  justice  in  the 
damnation  of  the  reprobate,  who  are  wicked  and  dis- 
obedient. For  then  shall  the  righteous  go  into  ever- 
lasting life,  and  receive  that  fulness  of  joy  and  refreshing 
which  shall  come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  but 
the  wicked,  who  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  cast  into  eternal  torments,  and 
be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power.5 

1  Actsxvii.  31.  2  John  v.  22,  27.  |  6  Matt.  xxv.  31-46.     Rom.  ii.  5,  6; 

3  1  Cor.  vi.  3.    Jude  6.    2  Pet.  ii.  4.     I  ix.  22,  23.     Matt.  xxv.  21.  Acts 

*  2  Cor.  v.  10.    Eccl.  xii.  U.     Rom.  iii.  19.    2  Thess.  i.  7-10. 

ii.  16;  xiv.  10, 12.  Matt.  xii.  36,  37.  | 

EXPOSITION. 

There  is  a  particular  judgment  which  passes  upon  every 
individual  immediately  after  death ;  for  "  it  is  appointed  unto 
men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment." — Heb.  ix.  27. 
There  is  also  a  general  judgment,  which  shall  take  place  after 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  at  the  last  day.  The  present 
sections — 1.  Declare  the  certainty  of  a  future  judgment; 
2.  Affirm  that  the  administration  of  this  judgment  is  com- 
mitted to  Jesus  Christ ;  3.  Point  out  the  parties  who  shall 
appear  before  his  tribunal ;  4.  The  matters  to  be  tried ; 
and,  5.  The  sentence  to  be  pronounced. 

I.  The  certainty  of  a  future  judgment.    "We  are  told  that 


SECT.  1,  2.]        OF  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  321 

Paul  reasoned  before  Felix  of  judgment  to  come. — Acts  xxiv. 
25.  He  proved  this  truth  by  arguments  drawn  from  the 
nature  and  reason  of  things ;  and  such  arguments  are  not  to 
be  overlooked  by  us,  though  our  faith  stands  upon  a  more 
sure  foundation. 

1.  The  certainty  of  a  future  judgment  appears  from  the 
dictates  of  conscience.  Men,  even  when  destitute  of  super- 
natural revelation,  apprehend  an  essential  difference  between 
good  and  evil.  When  they  do  what  is  right,  their  conscience 
approves  and  commends  their  conduct ;  and  when  they  do 
what  is  wrong,  their  conscience  reproaches  and  condemns 
them.  If  they  have  committed  some  atrocious  crime,  con- 
science stings  them  with  remorse;  and  this  it  does  although 
the  crime  be  secret,  and  concealed  from  every  human  eye. 
Whence  does  this  arise,  but  from  an  awful  foreboding  oi 
future  retribution?  The  Apostle  Paul,  accordingly,  shows 
that  all  mankind  have  a  witness  in  themselves  that  there 
shall  be  a  future  judgment. — Rom.  ii.  15. 

2.  Reason  infers  a  future  judgment  from  the  state  of 
things  in  this  world.  Here  we  take  for  granted  these  two 
fundamental  principles  of  religion — the  being  of  God,  and 
his  providence  in  the  government  of  the  world.  All  who 
acknowledge  these  truths  must,  and  do,  believe  that  God  is 
infinitely  just  and  righteous,  infinitely  wise  and  holy,  in- 
finitely good  and  merciful;  and  that  he  cannot  be  otherwise. 
From  this  it  necessarily  results  that  it  must  be  well  with  the 
righteous,  and  ill  with  the  wicked.  But  the  most  superficial 
view  of  the  present  state  of  things  is  sufficient  to  convince 
us  that  God  does  not,  in  this  world,  dispense  prosperity  only 
to  the  good,  and  adversity  only  to  the  evil :  "  There  be  just 
men,  unto  whom  it  happeneth  according  to  the  work  of  the 
wicked;  again,  there  be  wicked  men,  to  whom  it  happeneth 
according  to  the  work  of  the  righteous." — Eccl.  viii.  14. 
The  promiscuous  dispensations  of  Providence  have  per- 
plexed the  minds  of  men  in  every  age,  and  tried  the  faith  of 
the  children  of  God. — Ps.  lxxiii.  4-17;  Jer.  xii.  1,  2;  Hab.  i. 
13.  But  reason  rightly  exercised  would  lead  us  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  upon  the  supposition  of  the  being  and  provi- 
dence of  God,  there  must  be  a  day  coming  when  these  things 
will  be  brought  under  review,  and  when  a  wide  and  visible 
difference  shall  be  made  between  him  that  serveth  God  and 
him  that  serveth  him  not. 

3.  God  has  given  testimony  to  this  truth  in  all  the  ex- 
traordinary judgments  which  he  has  executed  since  the  be^ 
ginning  of  the  world.  Though  much  wickedness  remains  un- 
punished and  undiscerned  in  this  world,  yet  God  sometimes 

x 


322  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.        [CHAP.  XXXIII. 

executes  judgment  upon  daring  offenders,  to  show  that  he 
judgeth  in  the  earth,  and  to  give  warning  to  men  of  a  judg- 
ment to  come.  In  signal  judgments,  "  the  wrath  of  God  is 
revealed  from  heaven  against  the  ungodliness  of  men;"  and 
an  intimation  is  given  of  what  he  will  further  do  hereafter. — 
2  Pet.  ii.  5,  6,  iii.  5,  7. 

4.  That  there  is  a  judgment  to  come  is  confirmed  by  the 
most  explicit  testimonies  of  scripture.  Enoch  predicted  the 
approach  of  this  day  of  universal  decision  as  a  salutary 
admonition  to  that  profligate  age  in  which  he  lived. — Jude 
14,  15.  Solomon  addressed  this  solemn  warning  to  the 
voluptuous :  "  Know  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring 
thee  into  judgment." — Eccl.  xi.  9.  Job  put  his  friends  in 
mind  that  there  is  a  judgment;  and  the  Psalmist  frequently 
represents  it  in  very  solemn  language. — Job  xix.  29;  Ps.  1. 
3-6,  xcviii.  9.  Our  Lord,  during  his  personal  ministry,  fre- 
quently foretold  his  coming  to  judgment;  and  the  testimonies 
to  this  truth  in  the  writings  of  his  apostles  are  numerous. — 
Matt.  xxv.  31-46;  Rom.  xiv.  10,  12;  2  Cor.  v.  10. 

5.  This  truth  is  confirmed  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  Apostle  Paul,  having  affirmed  that  "  God  wall  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained," 
adds,  "  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  to  all  men,  in  that 
he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead." — Acts  xvii.  31.  The 
resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  specimen  and  pledge  of  a  general 
resurrection — that  grand  preparative  for  the  judgment.  It 
is  an  incontestable  proof  of  our  Lord's  divine  mission,  and  is, 
therefore,  an  authentic  attestation  of  all  his  claims.  In  the 
days  of  his  humiliation,  when  he  was  accused  and  condemned 
before  the  tribunal  of  men,  he  plainly  warned  them  of  a 
future  judgment,  and  declared  that  he  himself  would  be  the 
judge:  "  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven." — 
Matt.  xxvi.  64.  Now,  since  God  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  although  he  was  condemned  as  a  blasphemer  for  this 
very  declaration,  is  not  this  an  undeniable  proof  from  heaven 
of  the  truth  of  what  he  then  asserted? 

II.  The  administration  of  the  future  judgment  is  com- 
mitted to  Jesus  Christ:  u  He  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  the 
judge  of  quick  and  dead." — Acts  x.  42.  It  is,  indeed,  fre- 
quently said,  that  "  God  shall  judge  the  world;,"  and  the 
Psalmist  declares,  "  None  else  is  judge  but  God." — Ps.  1.  6. 
How  are  these  declarations  to  be  reconciled  ?  The  words  of 
Paul  enable  us  to  solve  the  difficulty.  He  has  told  us  that 
"  God  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man 
whom  he  hath  ordained." — Acts  xvii.  31 .    It  thus  appears 


SECT.  1,  2.]  OP  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  323 

that  God  the  Father  judges  the  world  by  the  Son.  The 
supreme  judiciary  power  is  in  the  Godhead,  and  the  exercise 
of  that  power  is  committed  to  Christ,  as  mediator — John  v.  22. 
There  is  a  peculiar  fitness  and  propriety  in  this  constitution: 
— 1.  It  is  fit  that  this  high  office  should  be  conferred  upon 
Christ,  as  an  honorary  reward  for  his  extreme  abasement  and 
ignominious  sufferings.  2.  Inasmuch  as  men  are  to  be  judged 
after  the  resurrection  in  an  embodied  state,  it  is  fit  they  should 
have  a  visible  judge.  3.  It  is  also  fit  that  Christ  should 
be  the  supreme  judge,  as  it  must  contribute  greatly  to  the 
consolation  of  the  saints  that  they  shall  be  judged  by  him 
who  is  a  partaker  of  their  nature,  who  redeemed  them  to 
God  by  his  blood,  and  who  is  their  advocate  with  the 
Father.  4.  It  may  be  added,  that  hereby  the  condemnation 
of  the  wicked  will  be  rendered  more  conspicuously  just;  for 
if  a  Mediator — a  Saviour — the  Friend  of  sinners — condemn 
them,  they  must  be  worthy  of  condemnation  indeed. 

III.  We  are  next  to  consider  the  parties  who  shall  appear 
before  the  tribunal  of  Christ.  The  Scripture  says  nothing  of 
the  judgment  of  good  angels,  but  it  clearly  teaches  that  the 
apostate  angels  will  be  judged. — Jude  4;  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  That 
men  universally  shall  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ 
is  expressly  declared. — 2  Cor.  v.  10.  We  are  told  that 
Christ  "  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appear- 
ing."— 2  Tim.  iv.  1.  This  expression,  "  the  quick  and  the 
dead,"  comprehends  all  mankind.  By  the  dead,  are  to  be 
understood  all  who  died  before  the  period  of  Christ's  coming 
to  judgment ;  and  by  the  quick,  such  as  shall  then  be  found 
alive. 

IV.  The  matter  to  be  tried.  This  is  expressed  in  the  most 
comprehensive  terms  :  "  God  shall  bring  every  work  into 
judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or 
whether  it  be  evil." — Eccl.  xii.  14.  All  the  works  of  the 
sons  of  men  will  be  tried,  and  they  shall  receive  according  to 
what  they  have  done  in  the  body,  whether  good  or  evil.  Not 
only  the  actions  of  the  life,  but  also  the  words  of  men  shall  be 
judged;  for  our  Saviour  has  assured  us  that  "  for  every  idle 
word  which  men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  an  account  in 
the  day  of  judgment." — Matt.  xii.  36.  And  not  only  the 
actions  and  words,  but  also  the  very  thoughts  of  men  shall 
be  brought  into  judgment ;  for  we  are  told  "  God  shall 
judge  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ." — Rom.  ii.  16. 

V.  The  sentence  to  be  pronounced  will  be  answerable  to 
the  several  states  in  which  mankind  shall  be  found.  They 
shall  receive  their  doom  according  to  their  works. — Rev.xx.  13. 
It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  good  works  of  the  righteous 


324  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH.        [[CHAP.  XXXIII. 

will  be  produced  in  that  day,  not  as  the  grounds  of  their  ac- 
quittal, and  of  their  being  adjudged  to  eternal  life,  but  as  the 
evidences  of  their  gracious  state,  as  being  interested  in  the 
righteousness  of  Christ.  But  the  evil  deeds  of  the  wicked 
will  be  brought  forward,  not  only  as  evidences  of  their  being 
strangers  to  Christ,  but  also  as  the  grounds  of  kheir  condem- 
nation. To  the  glorious  company  on  his  right  hand  the  King 
will  say  :  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
How  different  the  sentence  that  will  be  passed  on  the  guilty 
crowd  on  his  left  hand  !  To  them  he  will  say:  "  Depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels."  The  sentence  shall  no  sooner  be  passed  than  it 
shall  be  executed.  "While  fallen  angels  and  wicked  men  shall 
be  driven  from  the  presence  of  the  Judge  into  the  pit  of  eter- 
nal perdition,  the  righteous  shall  be  conducted  into  heavenly 
mansions,  and  "  shall  go  no  more  out.'*  "  These  shall  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment;  but  the  righteous  into  life  eter- 
nal." The  same  expression  being  applied  to  the  happiness  of 
the  righteous  and  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  we  may  con- 
clude that  both  will  be  of  equal  duration. 

Section  III. — As  Christ  would  have  us  to  be  certainly 
persuaded  that  there  shall  be  a  day  of  judgment,  both  to 
deter  all  men  from  sin,  and  for  the  greater  consolation 
of  the  godly  in  their  adversity ; 8  so  will  he  have  that 
day  unknown  to  men,  that  they  may  shake  off  all  carnal 
security,  and  be  always  watchful,  because  they  know  not 
at  what  hour  the  Lord  will  come  ;  and  may  be  ever  pre- 
pared to  say,  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.     Amen.7 

6  2  Pet.  iii.  11,  14.    2  Cor.  v.  10,  II.  I  *  Matt.  xxiv.  36,  42-44.     Mark  xiii. 
2  Thess.i.  5-7.    Luke  xxi.  27, 28.  35-37.      Luke    xii.     35,     36. 

Rom.  viii.  23-25.  Kev.   xxii.  20. 

EXPOSITION. 

The  day  of  the  eternal  judgment  is  fixed  in  the  counsels  of 
God;  but, that  we  may  be  kept  habitually  watchful,  the  know- 
ledge of  that  day  is  wisely  concealed  from  us.  Though  a  long 
series  of  ages  may  elapse  before  Christ  shall  come  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  to  judge  the  world,  let  every  one  remember 
that  the  day  of  his  own  death  is  equally  important  to  him  as 
the  day  of  the  universal  judgment ;  for  where  death  leaves 
him,  judgment  will  find  him.  Let  him,  therefore,  "  be  dili- 
gent, that  he  may  be  found  of  God  in  peace,  without  spot  and 
blameless."     Let  every  reader  study  to  improve  the  talents 


SECT.  3.]  OF  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  325 

with  which  he  is  intrusted,  and  he  solicitous  to  obtain  the 
approbation  of  his  Master  in  heaven.  How  highly  will  he 
commend  all  those  who  have  been  diligent  and  faithful  in 
his  service !  He  will  bestow  upon  them  that  best  of  plaudits  : 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant;"  and  will  introduce 
them  into  "  the  joy  of  their  Lord."  Well  may  the  genuine 
believer  "  love  the  appearing"  of  Christ;  for  when  Christ  shall 
appear,  he  also  shall  appear  with  him  in  glory.  And  since 
Christ  proclaims  in  his  Word,  "  Surely  I  come  quickly,"  let 
every  Christian  joyfully  respond,  "  Amen.  Even  so,  come 
Lord  Jesus." 


THE  END. 


INDEX. 


Absolute,  decrees  of  God  are,  45. 

Adam,  covenant  of  works  made  with  him,  85 ;  represented  all  his 
natural  posterity,  86;  effects  of  his  fall  upon  himself  and  his  pos- 
terity, 75-81. 

Adoption,  meaning  of  the  term,  138;  difference  between  spiritual 
and  human,  ib.;  flows  from  the  grace  of  God,  139;  the  mediation 
of  Christ  the  meritorious  cause  of,  ib. ;  the  privileges  enioved  bv, 
139,  140. 

Anabaptists,  the  German,  their  principles,  241,  277. 

Anthropomorphites,  their  heresy,  26. 

Antinomians,  their  doctrine  respecting  justification,  135;  respecting 
sanctification,  142,  144. 

Antipaedobaptists  opposed  to  infant  baptism,  287. 

Antitrinitarians,  their  doctrine  considered,  36. 

Apocryphal  books,  why  rejected  by  Protestants,  9. 

Arians,  their  heresy,  40,  97. 

Arminians,  Doctrine  of,  respecting  the  divine  decrees,  45,  49 ;  re- 
specting election,  50-52;  respecting  the  atonement  of  Christ,  55; 
respecting  original  sin,  77;  respecting  the  federal  headship  of 
Adam,  86;  respecting  the  extent  of  Christ's  death,  112;  respect- 
ing free-will,  115;  respecting  the  office  of  faith  in  justification, 
128,  131;  respecting  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  172;  respect- 
ing assurance  of  salvation,  182. 

Ascension  of  Christ,  106. 

Assurance,  difference  between  that  of  faith  and  that  of  sense, 
151-153,  190;  of  grace  and  salvation  attainable  in  this  life,  182; 
upon  what  it  is  founded,  184;  not  the  attainment  of  all  believers, 
190. 

Atonement  of  Christ,  the  extent  of,  in  regard  to  its  objects,  112-114. 

Attributes  of  God,  27-35. 

Authenticity  of  the  Scriptures,  8. 

Baptism,  instituted  by  Christ,  283,  284;  the  ends  of,  284, 285 ;  water 
the  outward  element,  what  it  represents,  285;  to  be  administered 
in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  ib.;  who  may  administer,  286;  the 
mode  of  administering,  ib. ;  infant  baptism  vindicated,  287-290; 
not  absolutely  necessary  to  6alvation,  yet  not  to  be  neglected 


328  INDEX. 

291;  not  regeneration,  ib.;  its  efficacy,  ib.;  only  administered 
once,  292;  the  naming  of  the  person  baptized  not  essential,  ib.* 
how  to  be  improved,  ib. 

Canon  of  Scripture,  8. 

Censures,  Church,  what,  306;  their  use,  ib. 

Christ,  the  Lord  Jesus,  is  a  divine  person,  40,  41 ;  the  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man,  95 ;  appointed  to  his  office  from  all  eternity 
by  God  the  Father,  ib.;  a  people  given  to  him  to  be  his  seed,  96; 
pre-existence  of,  97 ;  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  98 ;  took  upon  him 
man's  nature,  99;  was  conceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  100;  the  Godhead  and  manhood 
inseparably  united  in  his  person,  ib. ;  fully  qualified  for  his  work, 
101;  the  surety  of  his  people,  102;  made  under  the  law,  104; 
suffered  both  in  soul  and  body,  ib. ;  was  crucified,  and  died,  105; 
was  buried,  ib.;  rose  from  the  dead,  106;  ascended  into  heaven, 
ib.;  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  107;  maketh  intercession 
for  his  people,  ib.;  will  return  to  judge  the  world,  108,  322;  the 
alone  head  of  the  Church,  267. 

Christian  liberty.     See  Liberty. 

Christian  perfection,  not  attainable  in  this  life,  81. 

Church,  meaning  of  the  term,  259 ;  the  object  of  God's  special  pro- 
vidence, 72;  the  epithets  visible,  in-visible,  and  catholic,  explained, 
259-262;  the  invisible,  262;  the  visible,  263;  children  of  profess- 
ing Christians  "members  of,  264;  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salva- 
tion out  of  the  visible,  265 ;  sometimes  more,  sometimes  less  visible, 
266 ;  the  purest  subject  to  mixture  and  error,  ib. ;  its  perpetuity, 
267;  Christ  her  sole  head,  267-271. 

Church  censures.     See  Censures. 

Church,  Government  of  the,  a  particular  form  appointed  by  Christ, 
302;  different  forms  stated,  303;  is  lodged  in  the  hand  of  Church 
officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate,  ib. 

Communion  of  saints  with  Jesus  Christ,  273;  does  not  involve  an 
equality  with  Christ,  278;  of  saints  with  one  another,  274;  of 
saints  by  profession,  274-277 ;  does  not  infringe  upon  the  rights  of 
private  property,  278. 

Confession  of  Faith,  vindicated  from  tne  charge  of  intolerance, 
210-212. 

Confession  of  sin  to  be  made  in  private  to  God,  160;  when  to  be 
made  to  man,  161 ;  Popish  doctrine  of,  ib. 

Conscience.    See  Liberty  of  Conscience. 

Consubstantiation,  Lutheran  doctrine  of,  300. 

Corruption  of  nature,  what,  75,  76 ;  conveyed  to  all  the  posterity  of 
Adam,  77-79 ;  remains  during  this  life  in  the  regenerate,  81 ;  all  its 
motions,  even  in  the  regenerated,  are  truly  sin,  82. 

Councils,  or  Synods,  ought  to  be,  307;  how  convened,  308;  what 
power  they  have,  310;  not  infallible,  311;  their  determinations 
are  to  be  tried  by  the  Scriptures,  22;  how  far  they  may  inter- 
meddle with  civil  affairs,  311. 

Covenant  of  works,  made  with  Adam  in  his  state  of  innocence,  85; 
in  it  Adam  represented  all  his  natural  posterity,  86. 

Covenant  of  grace,  one  and  the  same  with  the  covenant  of  redemp- 
tion, 88,  89 ;  made  with  Christ  as  the  representative  of  his  spiritual 
seed,  89;  originated  in  the  free  grace  of  God,  90;  established 
from  eternity,  ib. ;  in  it  God  requires  of  sinners  faith  in  Christ, 


INDEX.  329 

91:  designated  a  testament,  9*2;  the  same  under  various  dispen- 
sations, but  differently  administered,  93,  94. 

Death  of  Christ,  105;  extent  of,  with  respect  to  its  objects,  112-114; 
efficacy  of,  extends  to  all  ages,  111. 

Death,  temporal,  the  penalty  of  sin,  83;  universality  of,  312;  diffe- 
rence between  that  of  the  righteous  and  that  of  the  wicked,  313; 
reasons  why  the  saints  are  subjected  to  it,  313,  314;  the  effects  of 
it  on  the  body,  314;  the  soul  survives  it,  ib. ;  the  souls  of  the 
righteous  immediately  after  it  are  admitted  into  heaven,  315;  the 
souls  of  the  wicked  are  at  death  cast  into  hell,  317. 

Decrees  of  God,  43;  extent  and  properties  of,  44-46;  consistent  with 
human  liberty,  46,  47. 

Divinity  of  Christ,  40;  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  41. 

Divorce,  grounds  of,  257. 

Effectual  Calling,  119;  the  subjects  of,  120;  effected  by  the  Word 
and  Spirit,  ib. ;  flows  from  the  free  grace  of  God,  122;  is  under 
the  direction  of  his  sovereign  will  as  to  the  time  and  manner,  120. 

Elect  chosen  in  Christ,  52;  Christ  died  and  purchased  redemption 
for  them  alone,  55 ;  who  die  in  infancy,  how  saved,  122. 

Election,  48 ;  opinions  of  Arminians  and  Sociniaus  concerning,  49 ; 
respects  a  definite  number,  50;  from  eternity,  ib. ;  from  the 
sovereign  will  of  God,  51 ;  is  immutable,  52;  not  only  to  glory,  but 
also  to  the  means  thereof,  53;  knowledge  of,  how  to  be  attained,  59. 

Erastians,  their  principles,  245,  268,  303,  305. 

Eternity  of  God,  29. 

Faith  the  alone  instrument  of  justification,  130-133;  saving,  differs 
from  every  other  kind,  146;  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  147; 
ordinarily  wrought  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  ib. ;  object  of, 
148;  principal  acts  of,  149;  assurance  of,  151-153;  good  works  are 
fruits  and  evidences  of,  164. 

Faithfulness  of  God,  35. 

Fall  of  man,  73-75 ;  consequences  of,  75-80. 

Family  worship,  a  duty,  226. 

Fasting,  solemn,  a  part  of  religious  worship,  225. 

Free-will,  wherein  it  consists,  115;  man's  inability,  in  his  fallen 
state,  to  will  or  do  that  which  is  spiritually  good,  117,  118. 

God,  his  existence,  and  a  number  of  his  perfections  may  be  discover- 
ed by  the  light  of  nature,  1-4;  the  unity  of,  24;  the  only  living 
and  true  God,  25,  26 ;  a  most  pure  spirit,  26 ;  perfections  of,  27 ; 
infinite,  ib.;  self-existent  and  independent,  28;  the  fountain  of  all 
being,  ib.;  eternal,  29;  immutable,  ib.;  all-knowing,  30;  most 
free  and  most  absolute,  ib. ;  infinitely  wise,  31 ;  infinitely  power- 
ful, ib. ;  infinitely  holy,  32;  infinitely  just,  33;  infinitely  good,  34; 
infinitely  true  and  faithful,  35. 

Godhead,  the  three  persons  in,  38. 

Good  works,  what,  162, 163;  their  important  uses,  164,  165;  ability  to 
perform  them  is  wholly  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  166;  not  meri- 
torious of  pardon  of  sin  or  eternal  fife,  168;  accepted  of  God 
through  Christ,  169. 

Gospel  call  indefinite  and  universal,  119. 

Head  of  the  Church,  Christ  is  the  only,  267-271. 

Holiness  of  God,  32. 

Holy  Spirit,  the  inward  illumination  of  the,  necessary  to  the  saving 
understanding  of  the  things  of  God,  18;  speaking  in  the  Scripture, 


330  INDEX. 

is  the  supreme  judge  by  which  controversies  in  religion  are  to  be 
determined,  22;  his  divinity  proved,  41,  42;  his  operations  in  effec- 
tual calling  invincible,  121. 

Imputation  of  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin  to  all  his  posterity,  79-81 ; 
of  the  guilt  of  his  people  to  Christ,  103. 

Independents,  their  opinion  concerning  a  visible  Church,  263 ;  con- 
cerning the  authority  of  synods,  310. 

Intercession  of  Christ,  107. 

Judgment,  the  last,  the  certainty  of,  320-322;  the  Judge,  322;  the 
parties,  323;  the  matter  to  be  tried,  ib. ;  the  sentences  pronounced, 
324 ;  the  time  fixed  in  the  counsels  of  God,  but  wisely  concealed 
from  us,  ib. 

Justice  of  God,  33;  fully  satisfied  by  the  obedience  and  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  109,  133. 

Justification,  importance  of  the  doctrine  of,  125;  meaning  of  the 
term,  ib. ;  what  it  includes,  126;  not  by  our  own  works,  ib. ;  solely 
on  the  ground  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  129;  office  of  faith 
in,  130-133;  by  grace,  134;  an  irrevocable  act,  135;  the  same  under 
the  Old  Testament  as  under  the  New,  136;  difference  between  it 
and  sanctification,  142. 

Keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  what,  305 ;  committed  to  Church 
officers,  ib. ;  the  civil  magistrate  may  not  assume  the  power  of, 
247. 

Knowledge  of  God,  31. 

Law,  the  ceremonial,  what,  196;  abrogated  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment, ib. 

Law,  the  judicial,  what,  197;  how  far  it  is  abolished,  ib. 

Law,  the  moral,  what,  192,  197;  Adam  was  placed  under  it,  192; 
promulgated  from  Mount  Sinai,  194, 195;  believers  delivered  from 
it  in  its  covenant  form,  but  still  under  its  obligation  as  a  rule  of 
life,  197-199;  use  of  it  to  the  unregenerate,  199;  use  of  it  to  the 
regenerate,  ib. 

Liberty,  Christian,  wherein  it  consists,  200-203;  wherein  it  is  enlarged 
under  the  New  Testament,  204;  not  absolute  and  uncontrollable, 
209-212. 

Liberty  of  conscience,  wherein  it  consists,  and  what  opposed  to  it, 
205-207. 

Light  of  nature,  discovers  the  being  and  a  number  of  the  perfec- 
tions of  God,  1-4 ;  the  knowledge  of  God  attainable  by  it  serves 
various  useful  purposes,  4;  insufficient  to  give  fallen  man  that 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  will  which  is  necessary  to  salvation,  ib. 

Lord's  supper,  by  whom,  and  at  what  time,  instituted,  293;  a  stand- 
ing ordinance,  294;  its  ends  and  uses,  294,  295;  how  to  be  admi- 
nistered, 299;  who  may  partake,  301. 

Magistrate,  the  civil,  the  obedience  due  to  him  is  limited,  207; 
Christians  may  lawfully  accept  of  the  office,  243;  may  wage  war 
upon  just  and  necessary  occasions,  244 ;  his  power  in  regard  to 
Church  affairs  stated,  245-251 ;  the  duty  of  subjects  towards,  251 ; 
Infidelity  or  difference  in  religion  does  not  make  void  his  just  and 
lawful  authority,  252;  ecclesiastical  persons  not  exempted  from 
due  obedience  to  him,  ib. ;  the  Pope  has  no  jurisdiction  over  him 
or  his  subjects,  253. 

Magistracy  is  the  ordinance  of  God,  242;  for  what  end  appointed, 
243. 


INDEX.  331 

Man,  his  original  state,  63;  his  fall,  73-75;  his  inability  to  will  or  do 
that  which  is  spiritually  good,  117. 

Marriage,  the  end  of  it,  254;  lawful  to  all  sorts  of  persons  capable 
of  giving  their  consent,  255 ;  and  not  within  the  degrees  of  con- 
sanguinity or  affinity  forbidden  in  the  Scriptures,  257 ;  can  only 
be  dissolved  for  adultery,  or  wilful  and  obstinate  desertion,  257, 
258. 

Oath,  an,  the  nature  of,  236;  may  be  warrantably  taken,  237;  to 
be  taken  only  in  the  name  of  God,  ib. ;  when  lawful,  binds  to 
performance,  238. 

Pelagians,  their  opinion  respecting  original  sin,  77 ;  respecting  the 
federal  headship  of  Adam,  86;  respecting  man's  ability  in  his 
fallen  state,  117. 

Perseverance  of  the  saints,  different  opinions  respecting,  172;  ex- 
plained, 173-177;  arguments  by  which  it  is  supported,  177-180;  not 
unfavourable  to  holiness,  180. 

Polygamy  unlawful,  254. 

Popery.     See  Rome,  Church  of. 

Power  of  God,  how  displayed,  31. 

Prayer,  the  duty  of  all  men,  218,  219;  the  rule  of,  220;  to  be  made  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  ib. ;  by  the  help  of  the  Spirit,  ib. ;  to  be 
offered  up  in  a  right  manner,  ib. ;  in  a  known  tongue,  221 ;  for 
whom  it  is  to  be  made,  ib. 

Preaching  of  the  Word,  a  divine  ordinance,  223. 

Pre-existence  of  Jesus  Christ,  97. 

Predestination,  48 ;  a  high  mystery,  and  how  to  be  handled,  58,  59. 

Providence,  proof  of  a,  65;  what  it  includes,  66;  extent  of,  ib. ; 
either  ordinary  or  miraculous,  69;  how  concerned  about  sinful 
actions,  70 ;  in  a  special  manner  exercised  about  the  Church,  72. 

Public  worship,  a  duty,  227. 

Quakers,  their  opinion  as  to  swearing  an  oath,  237;  as  to  war,  242; 
as  to  baptism,  284. 

Reading  of  the  Scriptures,  a  part  of  religious  worship,  223. 

Reconciliation  to  God,  the  effect  of  Christ's  mediation,  110. 

Redemption,  for  whom  purchased,  55 ;  to  whom  applied,  56. 

Repentance,  Nature  of  evangelical,  154-157;  not  the  cause  of  the 
pardon  of  sin,  158;  inseparably  connected  with  pardon,  ib. 

Reprobation,  57,  58. 

Resurrection  of  Christ,  106. 

Resurrection  of  the  dead,  its  universality,  317;  that  of  the  saints  is 
established  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  ib.,  identity  of  our 
bodies,  ib. 

Revelation  of  the  will  of  God  granted  to  the  Church,  5 ;  committed 
to  writing,  6 ;  no  new  revelation  of  the  Spirit  to  be  added  to  the 
Word  of  God,  16. 

Righteousness  of  Christ  imputed  to  believers  for  their  justification, 
129. 

Rome,  Church  of,  reckons  the  Apocryphal  books  of  equal  authority 
with  the  Scriptures,  7 ;  maintains  that  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures is  derived  from  the  Church,  13;  adds  the  traditions  of  men 
to  the  Word  of  God,  17;  forbids  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  the  vulgar  languages,  21 ;  maintains  the  infallibility  of  the 
Church,  22,  266;  that  Christ  is  mediator  only  as  man,  111;  con- 
founds justification  with  sanctification,  125;  rejects  the  doctrine 


S3 2  INDEX. 

) 

of  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness,  129;  represents 
saving  faith  as  nothing  more  than  a  bare  naked  assent  to  the 
truth,  149;  distinguishes  between  mortal  and  venial  sins,  159; 
teaches  the  necessity  of  auricular  confession  of  sins  to  a  priest, 
161;  holds  that  a  good  intention  renders  actions  good,  163;  that 
saints  may  perform  works  of  supererogation,  167;  that  their  good 
works  are  meritorious,  168;  denies  the  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
172;  the  possibility  of  attaining  more  than  a  conjectural  persua- 
sion of  salvation,  in  this  life,  182;  teaches  that  the  Pope  may 
enact  laws  which  bind  the  conscience,  205 ;  worships  angels  and 
saints,  215;  joins  them  with  Christ  as  mediators  of  intercession. 
217;  offers  prayers  and  masses  for  departed  souls,  222;  holds  the 
detestable  principle,  that  "  faith  is  not  to  be  kept  with  heretics," 
238;  exempts  ecclesiastical  persons  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
civil  magistrate,  252;  forbids  the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  255; 
maintains  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  absolutely  visible,  262; 
affirms  that  the  Roman  Catholic  is  the  only  Church,  265; 
that  the  Pope  of  Rome  is  the  head  of  the  universal  Church,  268 ; 
that  the  intention  of  the  administrator  is  essential  to  a  sacrament, 
and  that,  when  rightly  administered,  the  sacraments  are  of  them- 
selves effectual  to  confer  grace,  281;  has  added  five  spurious 
sacraments,  282;  permits  baptism  to  be  dispensed  by  laymen  and 
women,  286;  holds  transubstantiation,  297 ;  the  sacrifice  of  the 
.  mass,  298;  and  purgatory,  315. 
Sabbath,  the,  its  morality,  229-231 ;  change  from  the  seventh  to  the 

first  day  of  the  week,  231,  232;  how  to  be  sanctified,  233. 
Sacraments,  meaning  of  the  term,  279;  the  institution,  nature,  and 
ends  of  them,  280 ;  their  parts,  ib. ;  how  rendered  effectual,  281, 282 ; 
only  two  of  divine  institution,  282;  those  of  the  Old  Testament 
substantially  the  same  with  those  of  the  New,  283. 
Saints,  perseverance  of  the.    See  Perseverance. 
Sanctification,  meaning  of  the  term,  142;  difference  between  it  and 
justification,  ib ;  both  a  privilege  and  a  duty,  143;  considered  as 
initial  and  progressive,  ib. ;  extends  to  the  whole  man,  ib. ;  im- 
perfect in  this  life,  144;  indispensably  necessary,  145;  perfected 
at  death,  316. 
Scriptures,  the  Holy,  why  necessary,  6;  the  true  canon  of,  7;  their 
authenticity  and  genuineness,  how  ascertained,  8,  9;  inspiration 
of,  10;  evidences  of  their  inspiration,  13,  14;  their  perfection,  15, 
16;    their  perspicuity,   18;    originally  written  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  20 ;  have  come  down  to  us  uncorrupted,  ib. ;  should  be 
translated  into  the  vulgar  languages,  21 ;  the  infallible  rule  of  in- 
terpretation of,  is  the  Scripture  itself,  ib. ;  are  the  supreme  stan- 
dard of  religious  truth,  22. 
Secret  prayer  a  duty,  227. 
Sin,  of  original,  77;  wherein  it  consists,  77-81 ;  the  desert  of,  82, 83; 

the  least,  deserves  damnation,  159. 
Singing  of  psalms,  a  part  of  religious  worship,  224. 
Socinians,  the  opinion  of,  respecting  the  supreme  standard  of  re- 
ligious truth,  22;  respecting  Jesus  Christ,  40,  97;  respecting  the 
Holy  Spirit,  41;  respecting  the  divine  decrees,  45;  respecting 
election,  49,  50;  respecting  original  sin,  77;  respecting  temporal 
death,  83;  respecting  the  federal  headship  of  Adam,  86;  respect- 
ing justification,  126;  respecting  the  atonement  of  Christ,  133, 
158;  respecting  the  sacraments,  280. 


INDEX.  333 

Sonship  of  Christ,  remarks  concerning  the,  88. 

Supererogation,  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  regarding  works  of,  167. 

Supper,  the  Lord's.    See  Lord's  Supper. 

Surety,  what,  102;  of  his  spiritual  seed  Christ  is  the,  102,  103. 

Thanksgiving,  solemn,  a  part  of  religious  worship,  225. 

Traditions  of  men,  not  to  be  added  to  the  Word  of  God,  17. 

Transubstantiation,  doctrine  of,  explained,  297 ;  refuted,  ib. 

Trinity,  meaning  of  the  term,  36 ;  the  doctrine  confirmed,  38 ;  per- 
sonal properties  of  the  sacred  Three,  39;  each  of  the  sacred  Three 
is  truly  God,  40. 

Unchangeableness  of  God,  29. 

Union  of  saints  to  Jesus  Christ,  272;  of  saints  to  one  another,  273; 
of  saints  by  profession,  274. 

Vow,  a,  what,  239 ;  when  lawful,  ib. ;  has  an  intrinsic  obligation, 
240. 

Wisdom  of  God,  31. 

Witnessing  of  the  Spirit,  186-189. 

Word  of  God,  why  the  Holy  Scripture  is  so  called,  10.  See  Scrip- 
tures. 

Works,  our  own,  not  the  ground  of  our  justification  before  God, 
127;  those  of  unregenerate  men  cannot  please  God,  170.  See 
Good  Works. 

World,  had  a  beginning,  60;  created  by  God,  61 ;  in  six  days,  ib.; 
very  good,  62;  for  his  own  glory,  ib. 

Worship,  religious,  wherein  it  consists,  213;  viewed  as  external  and 
internal,  ib. ;  must  be  regulated  by  divine  institution,  ib.;  of 
images  unlawful,  ib. ;  God  the  alone  object  of,  214;  not  angels, 
nor  departed  saints,  215;  nor  relics,  216;  only  acceptable  through 
the  mediation  of  Christ,  217;  the  several  parts  of,  218-225;  time 
appointed  for,  228 ;  not  confined  to  .any  place,  225. 


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